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Rising rates of diet-related chronic disease have prompted a growing number of jurisdictions in the US to adopt sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes. These taxes reduce SSB purchases, but their downstream effects on health outcomes have been understudied. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I assess the effects of SSB taxes implemented in two large cities – Philadelphia and San Francisco – on mortality. I find that these taxes were associated with a 7.1% decline in all-cause mortality, with suggestive evidence of stronger effects on deaths linked to poor diet. These estimates imply that, together, SSB taxes in Philadelphia and San Francisco prevented between 425 and 8,269 deaths over a three-year period.
Liam Sigaud (Tue,) studied this question.