• New CTF study surveys the impact of fat and sugar taxes in various jurisdictions • Chicago recently repealed two-month old soda tax due to overwhelming opposition
Sweet Nothing: Fat and Sugar Taxes Don’t Reduce Obesity
OTTAWA, ON: In the midst of continued debate in Canada about the imposition of fat and sugar taxes, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today released a new study, Sweet Nothing: Real-World Evidence of Food and Drink Taxes and their Effect on Obesity which analyses the track record of food and drink taxes around the world.
“While theoretically appealing to many public health activists, food and drink taxes simply don't work as advertised,” said journalist and study author Peter Shawn Taylor. “Evidence from the real world shows taxes on fat or sugar don't reduce obesity and don't make people healthier – they do, however, disproportionately harm the poor, fill government coffers and cause substantial unintended negative consequences.”