ArticleBMC public health2019
A discourse network analysis of UK newspaper coverage of the "sugar tax" debate before and after the announcement of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Article in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- A mental model of obesity: comparing expert and public perceptions in Ireland, the UK, and the US.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- "Favoring those who contributed to their political campaigns": an analysis of the incentives received by the food industry in Colombia in the period of 2018-2020.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Reactions of industry and associated organisations to the announcement of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: longitudinal thematic analysis of UK media articles, 2016-18.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Understanding Marketing Responses to a Tax on Sugary Drinks: A Qualitative Interview Study in the United Kingdom, 2019.International journal of health policy and management · 2022Article
- Article
- 'Choice should be made through… educated decisions not regressive dictates': discursive framings of a proposed 'sugar tax' in Bermuda: analysis of submissions to a government consultation.Globalization and health · 2022Article
- Stakeholder views on taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages and its adoption in the Netherlands.Health promotion international · 2022Article
- Implementation of sugar-sweetened beverages tax and its perception among public health stakeholders. A study from Poland.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- How should we evaluate sweetened beverage tax policies? A review of worldwide experience.BMC public health · 2021Review
- Article
- A mixed-method analysis of the #SugarTax debate on Twitter.Public health nutrition · 2021Article
- How does the British Soft Drink Association respond to media research reporting on the health consequences of sugary drinks?Globalization and health · 2021Article
- Evidence of a health risk 'signalling effect' following the introduction of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax.Food policy · 2021Article
- Policy congruence and advocacy strategies in the discourse networks of minimum unit pricing for alcohol and the soft drinks industry levy.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Article
- An exploration of the portrayal of the UK soft drinks industry levy in UK national newspapers.Public health nutrition · 2020Article
- Non-communicable disease governance in the era of the sustainable development goals: a qualitative analysis of food industry framing in WHO consultations.Globalization and health · 2020Article
- The impact of UK soft drinks industry levy on manufacturers' domestic turnover.Economics and human biology · 2020Article
- Image-and-text health warning labels on alcohol and food: potential effectiveness and acceptability.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Regulating the Fast-Food Landscape: Canadian News Media Representation of the Healthy Menu Choices Act.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Mining news media for understanding public health concerns.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOn 6th April 2018, the UK Government introduced the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) as a mechanism designed to address increasing prevalence of obesity and associated ill health by reducing sugar consumption. Given that the successful introduction of upstream food and nutrition policies is a highly political enterprise involving multiple interested parties, understanding the complex network of stakeholders seeking to influence such policy decisions is imperative.
methodsMedia content analysis was used to build a dataset of relevant newspaper articles, which were analysed to identify stakeholder agreement or disagreement with defined concept statements. We used discourse network analysis to produce visual representations of the network of stakeholders and coalitions evident in the debate as it was presented in UK newspapers, in the lead up to and following the announcement of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in the UK, from May 2015 to November 2016.
resultsCoding identified 3883 statements made by 214 individuals from 176 organisations, relating to 47 concepts. Network visualisations revealed a complex network of stakeholders with clear sceptical and supportive coalitions. Industry stakeholders appeared less united in the network than anticipated, particularly before the SDIL announcement. Some key industry actors appeared in the supportive coalition, possibly due to the use of corporate social responsibility rhetoric. Jamie Oliver appeared as a dominant stakeholder, firmly embedded with public health advocates.
conclusionThis study highlights the complexity of the network of stakeholders involved in the public debate on food policies such as sugar tax and the SDIL. Polarisation of stakeholders arose from differences in ideology, focus on a specific policy and statements about the weight of evidence. Vocal celebrity policy entrepreneurs may be instrumental in gaining public and policy makers' support for future upstream regulation to promote population health, to facilitate alignment around a clear ideology.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.