Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38730332›Full record

SynthesisBMC public health2024

The relationship between the price and demand of alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food, sugar-sweetened beverages, and gambling: an umbrella review of systematic reviews.

Robyn Burton, Casey Sharpe, Saloni Bhuptani, Mike Jecks, Clive Henn, Nicola Pearce-Smith, Sandy Knight, Marguerite Regan, Nick Sheron

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis 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 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing 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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Public mental health: a WPA priority and key opportunity to address implementation failure.Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Reward deprivation is associated with elevated alcohol demand in emerging adults.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2025
    Article
  5. 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

9 authors.

Robyn BurtonDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England. robyn.burton@stir.ac.uk.
Casey SharpeDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.
Saloni BhuptaniDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.
Mike JecksDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.
Clive HennDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.
Nicola Pearce-SmithUK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, England.
Sandy KnightDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.
Marguerite ReganDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.
Nick SheronDepartment of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, 39 Victoria Street, London, England.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe WHO highlight alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food, and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes as one of the most effective policies for preventing and reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases. This umbrella review aimed to identify and summarise evidence from systematic reviews that report the relationship between price and demand or price and disease/death for alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food, and SSBs. Given the recent recognition as gambling as a public health problem, we also included gambling.

methodsThe protocol for this umbrella review was pre-registered (PROSPERO CRD42023447429). Seven electronic databases were searched between 2000-2023. Eligible systematic reviews were those published in any country, including adults or children, and which quantitatively examined the relationship between alcohol, tobacco, gambling, unhealthy food, or SSB price/tax and demand (sales/consumption) or disease/death. Two researchers undertook screening, eligibility, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment using the ROBIS tool.

resultsWe identified 50 reviews from 5,185 records, of which 31 reported on unhealthy food or SSBs, nine reported on tobacco, nine on alcohol, and one on multiple outcomes (alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food, and SSBs). We did not identify any reviews on gambling. Higher prices were consistently associated with lower demand, notwithstanding variation in the size of effect across commodities or populations. Reductions in demand were large enough to be considered meaningful for policy.

conclusionsIncreases in the price of alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food, and SSBs are consistently associated with decreases in demand. Moreover, increasing taxes can be expected to increase tax revenue. There may be potential in joining up approaches to taxation across the harm-causing commodities.

Indexed as

CommerceGamblingSugar-Sweetened BeveragesSystematic Reviews as TopicTaxesAlcohol DrinkingAlcoholic BeveragesFoodHumansTobacco ProductsAlcoholPricePrice elasticity of demandSugar sweetened beveragesTaxTobaccoUnhealthy food

Identifiers

PMID38730332
PMCPMC11088175

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.