Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41328516›Full record

ArticleHealth promotion international2025

Evaluating sugar-sweetened beverage tax effects: online price and sales data from grocers in Canada.

Rachel Prowse, Daniel Zaltz, Kayla Crichton, Kierra Dooley, David Hammond, Yanqing Yi, Marie-Claude Paquette, Peizhong Peter Wang, Kim Raine, Scott V Harding

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health promotion international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

10 authors.

Rachel ProwsePopulation Health and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3V6.ORCID 0000-0002-3015-2385
Daniel ZaltzDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Cir Suite 5253A, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3K3.
Kayla CrichtonDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Memorial University, 45 Arctic Avenue, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1C 5S7.
Kierra DooleyDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Memorial University, 45 Arctic Avenue, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1C 5S7.ORCID 0009-0004-6741-6403
David HammondSchool of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave West, Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3G1.
Yanqing YiPopulation Health and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3V6.
Marie-Claude PaquetteInstitut national de santé publique du Québec, 190, boulevard Crémazie Est, Montréal, QC, Canada, H2P 1E2.
Peizhong Peter WangPopulation Health and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, Health Sciences Centre, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1B 3V6.
Kim RaineSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, 11405 87 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 1C9.
Scott V HardingDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Memorial University, 45 Arctic Avenue, St. John's, NL, Canada, A1C 5S7.ORCID 0000-0002-7728-2339

Funding

Banting and Best Diabetes CentreCanadian Cancer Society 707239CIHR 181053Heart and Stroke Foundation of CanadaMemorial University
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) introduced Canada's first sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax in September 2022. Compared with national averages, NL has higher intakes of SSBs, lower intakes of plain water and milk, with higher rates of overweight and obesity and diabetes. Taxing SSBs is a recommended intervention but real-world effectiveness of SSB taxes requires more investigation. We evaluated changes in weekly beverage prices and sales pre- and post-tax implementation, comparing NL (intervention) to non-tax regions in Canada (control). We used a controlled interrupted time series to evaluate prices from grocery store websites 3 months pre- and post-tax. We observed no differences-in-differences in the intercept [β = -0.024, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.15-0.10, P = .70] or slope (β = 0.00, 95% CI -0.02-0.02, P = .99) of price changes. We used a repeat cross-sectional study to compare total annual sales of beverage categories in the year pre- and post-tax. Per capita sales in litres of taxable SSB decreased more in NL (-11.6%) than non-tax regions (-6.7%). Per capita sales of diet beverages (+4.4%) and unsweetened water (+2.2%) increased in NL. The NL SSB tax had no immediate impact on retail prices of taxable SSBs measured on product selection pages on grocery websites. Beverage purchasing shifted in NL since the SSB tax start date, however, it is difficult to isolate the impact of the SSB tax from broader market trends or other influencing factors. Long-term evaluation of the NL SSB tax is needed.

Indexed as

BeveragesCommerceSugar-Sweetened BeveragesTaxesCanadaCross-Sectional StudiesHumansInternethealth promoting policieshealthy public policyinterventionobservational studysugar

Identifiers

PMID41328516
PMCPMC12669988

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.