ArticlePLoS medicine2023
Evaluation of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Oakland, United States, 2015-2019: A quasi-experimental and cost-effectiveness study.
Article in PLoS medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of Multilevel and Multidomain Interventions to Improve Glycemic Control in U.S. Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Diabetes care · 2024Pooled it
- Who pays and Who benefits? A distributional health-economic evaluation of strengthening the UK soft drinks industry levy.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Impact of sugary drink taxes on beverage calories purchased in a national fast food restaurant chain: A quasi-experimental study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Impact of Fiscal Policy for Sugar-Sweetened Beverages on Reducing the Burden of Disease and Healthcare Costs in Brazil: A Simulation Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Perceived Barriers to a Healthy Diet and Factors Associated With Unhealthy Food Consumption in Steatotic Liver Disease.Gastro hep advances · 2026Article
- An application of the augmented synthetic control method within a target trial framework: the case of the soda tax policy in California.BMC public health · 2025Article
- City-Level Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes and Changes in Adult Body Mass Index.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- City-Level Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes and Youth Body Mass Index Percentile.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Addressing disparities in the global epidemiology of stroke.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2024Review
- Evaluation of Changes in Prices and Purchases Following Implementation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes Across the US.JAMA health forum · 2024Article
- Projected health and economic impacts of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation in Germany: A cross-validation modelling study.PLoS medicine · 2023Article
- Evaluation of the Soda Tax on Obesity and Diabetes in California: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.MDM policy & practiceArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhile a 2021 federal commission recommended that the United States government levy a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax to improve diabetes prevention and control efforts, evidence is limited regarding the longer-term impacts of SSB taxes on SSB purchases, health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness. This study estimates the impact and cost-effectiveness of an SSB tax levied in Oakland, California. METHODS AND
findingsAn SSB tax ($0.01/oz) was implemented on July 1, 2017, in Oakland. The main sample of sales data included 11,627 beverage products, 316 stores, and 172,985,767 product-store-month observations. The main analysis, a longitudinal quasi-experimental difference-in-differences approach, compared changes in beverage purchases at stores in Oakland versus Richmond, California (a nontaxed comparator in the same market area) before and 30 months after tax implementation (through December 31, 2019). Additional estimates used synthetic control methods with comparator stores in Los Angeles, California. Estimates were inputted into a closed-cohort microsimulation model to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and societal costs (in Oakland) from 6 SSB-associated disease outcomes. In the main analysis, SSB purchases declined by 26.8% (95% CI -39.0 to -14.7, p < 0.001) in Oakland after tax implementation, compared with Richmond. There were no detectable changes in purchases of untaxed beverages or sweet snacks or purchases in border areas surrounding cities. In the synthetic control analysis, declines in SSB purchases were similar to the main analysis (-22.4%, 95% CI -41.7% to -3.0%, p = 0.04). The estimated changes in SSB purchases, when translated into declines in consumption, would be expected to accrue QALYs (94 per 10,000 residents) and significant societal cost savings (>$100,000 per 10,000 residents) over 10 years, with greater gains over a lifetime horizon. Study limitations include a lack of SSB consumption data and use of sales data primarily from chain stores.
conclusionsAn SSB tax levied in Oakland was associated with a substantial decline in volume of SSBs purchased, an association that was sustained more than 2 years after tax implementation. Our study suggests that SSB taxes are effective policy instruments for improving health and generating significant cost savings for society.
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Registered trials
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