In 2014, Mexico became the first country in the Americas to tax the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) industry, sparking a cascade of SSB excise taxes in the US and globally. Rigorous evaluations have demonstrated that Mexico’s SSB tax increased SSB prices and reduced purchasing and consumption. Evaluations in at least 5 US jurisdictions and 7 countries have also demonstrated that these taxes reduce SSB sales and purchases. Consequently, SSB taxes are expected to result in improvements in population health in the years that follow (eg, lower incidence of conditions associated with SSB consumption, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes). However, data on the health impacts of SSB taxes are limited. One study of Mexico’s tax detected a lower probability of dental caries following tax implementation. This issue of JAMA Pediatrics includes an important addition to our understanding of tax health effects. The study by Gračner et al is the first, to our knowledge, to examine associations between an SSB tax and weight-related outcomes, finding lower risk of excess weight among adolescents, particularly for girls, in cities with larger price increases after the tax.
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