It appears that taxing sugary drinks is not as effective as Nanny told us.
It is now "accepted fact" that taxing chocolate and other sweet foods would be a more effective anti-obesity strategy than the new “sugar tax” on fizzy drinks.
A study by Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, predicts that adding 10 per cent to the price of confectionery, cakes and biscuits could lead to a 7 per cent drop in purchases.
The figures are similar to those for taxing sugar-sweetened drinks, where previous research suggests a 10 per cent price rise can reduce purchases by 6 per cent to 8 per cent.
However the latest study, published in BMJ Open, found that taxing sweet snacks could have an additional knock-on effect on the sale of other foods, leading to consumers cutting their buying of soft drinks, biscuits, cakes and savoury snacks as well.
All very fine and dandy, except the authors of the study then go on to say they don't have the empirical evidence and that the best way to get that is to levy the tax!
As Co-author Professor Susan Jebb, from the University of Oxford, said per the Telegraph:
"It's impossible to study the direct effects of a tax on snack food on consumer behaviour until such policies are introduced, but these estimates show the likely impact of changes in the price."
You couldn't make this up!