Soft drink price increase and opportunity examined as means to improve public health

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One way to improve public health that has been examined is to raise the cost of soft drinks, while at the same time there have been efforts to reduce the opportunity to consume them.  Research and various organizations and media outlets have looked at this to see whether or not it would indeed aid public health to offer restrictions on its availability and increase on its price.

People might think twice about buying soft drinks if the price is increased and look for healthier alternatives, a study discusses in the recent American Journal of Public Health.

What they found is that people are consuming more and more beverages with high rates of sugar, a fact that has implications for the nation's health.  This increase has been particularly dramatic during the past 25 years.

Investigators looked at how to reduce consumption of soft drinks by increasing prices.  To do this they examined purchases made at a cafeteria in Boston, comparing sales of those drinks where the prices were raised 35 percent to those where the prices remained the same but where an educational campaign was undertaken instead..  They also looked at a comparison sight where no interventions were taken.

The study found sales of regular soft drinks decreased by 26 percent where the price increases took place.  the educational campaign by itself did not affect the sales.  When price increases were combined with an educational campaign, there was an additional 18 percent decline in sales.

“Policymakers and public health advocates have proposed the taxation of regular soft drinks as a means to reduce the consumption of these products and raise revenue for public health purposes. Our results may have implications for these proposed policies” the study’s authors stated.

“Future research should test price increases on fruit juices and other sugary beverages and should examine several price levels to determine what price increase is most effective in reducing sugary beverages sales while maintaining revenue neutrality for a cafeteria or food establishment.”

Soft drinks in America have seen a rise in consumption since the 1970's, according to a site referencing global health.  Health professionals are concerned about the rise in diabetes that is tied to increased sugar consumption, with soft drinks providing a large amount with a consequent negative affect on health. Yet one must examine the numbers in recent times to check whether or not price increases and eliminating opportunity has made a difference.

The New York Times looked at this issue in 2011, specific to banning soft drinks in schools, and found that reducing opportunities for soda consumption had limited impact on sales and drinking of soft drinks.

On the other hand Times magazine observed that diet soda sales had crashed due to the alternatives for soda now available on the market and the public's growing health concerns.