Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39215358›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2024

Exploring the sugar-sweetened beverage tax (SSBT) pass-through rate in the Irish hospitality sector.

Frank Houghton, J Moran Stritch, J Auerbach, M Daly, D Houghton

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Evaluation of Ireland's Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax (SSBT).Irish journal of medical science · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Frank HoughtonTechnological University of the Shannon, Limerick, Ireland. Frank.Houghton@TUS.ie.
J Moran StritchTechnological University of the Shannon, Limerick, Ireland.
J AuerbachUniversity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
M DalyUniversity of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
D HoughtonUniversity of Galway, Galway, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) supports the use of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes (SSBTs) as a fiscal lever to help reduce sugar consumption and tackle obesity. Obesity is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. In response to increasing levels of obesity in Ireland, an SSBT was introduced in 2018. Previous research in Ireland has noted that the pass-through rate of the SSBT in retail (off-site consumption) settings was poor. However, to date, no research has examined the SSBT pass-through rate in hospitality (on-site consumption) venues in Ireland.

methodsThis research examines the SSBT pass-through rate on Coca-Cola versus diet versions of Coca-Cola in a convenience sample of 100 hospitality venues in two provincial Irish cities.

resultsWilcoxon signed rank test analysis revealed that regular Coca-Cola was significantly more expensive compared to the price charged for diet versions of Coca-Cola. However, in 85.6% of cases the same price was charged for both full-sugar and sugar-free drinks. The mean pass-through rate of the SSBT was 33.8%.

conclusionThe effective functioning of the SSBT is premised on persistent price differences between soft drink prices based on sugar content. However, this is barely evident in the hospitality sector in Ireland. A number of recommendations are suggested, including both increasing the SSBT, and increasing it annually in line with inflation.

Indexed as

Sugar-Sweetened BeveragesTaxesCarbonated BeveragesCommerceHumansIrelandObesityRestaurantsIrelandPass-through rateSSBTSugar-sweetened beverage taxSugar tax

Identifiers

PMID39215358
PMCPMC11363438

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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.