The academic study concluded that “SSB taxes may be effective in shifting consumers to purchase healthier beverages without causing undue economic hardship and while raising revenue for social objectives.”

PHILADELPHIA – Researchers from the Public Health Institute and the University of North Carolina published a study today analyzing the impact of the Berkeley sweetened beverage tax, one year into its implementation. Among other findings, the study found that the entire tax was not passed onto consumers, across all taxed items. It also found that, while sales of taxed beverages fell 9.6%, overall beverage sales rose across all stores, due in large part to a 15.6% increase in sales of bottled water. The study is available HERE.

“There was no evidence in the studied chains of higher grocery bills for consumers, loss of gross revenue per transaction for stores, or decreases in overall beverage sales for stores,” the study’s authors conclude.

Philadelphia Commerce Director, Harold T. Epps, commented on the report, “This study shows that a tax on the distribution of sweetened beverages has been a win-win-win in Berkeley: lowering unhealthy beverage consumption, raising revenue and causing minimal to no negative economic consequences.  With so many anecdotal and often unverified claims being pushed around by opponents of the Philadelphia Beverage Tax, this study offers encouraging scientific evidence of what we can expect to see here. It’s also an important reminder that it’s difficult to truly measure the economic impact of any tax with less than a year’s worth of data.”

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Tom Farley added, “I am very encouraged by the study and I am optimistic that we will see a similar impact here. Any reduction in the consumption of sugary drinks is an added benefit of the proposed tax. In Philadelphia we face a severe health crisis  with our twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes, and sugary drinks are the biggest single contributor. About 350 residents die from diabetes each year in our city, with the disease factoring into about 1,000 deaths per year.”