Young Australians Support Tax on Sugar Sweetened Beverages

Running head: MEDIA RELEASE
Media release
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1PUBLIC HEALTH
Media release:
Young Australians agree with taxation on SSBs
To tackle the obesity epidemic in Australia, one of the interventions on obesity reduction
suggests introduction of tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) as an effective strategy. It is
estimated that this may lead to opposition from the young Australia. However, the picture is
contrary.
A team of researchers (Richardson et al., 2018) investigating about support for tax on
SSBs among young Australians that most young Australians support the idea of tax on SSBs
provided it is used to support healthy eating. The work of these researchers revealed that research
participants view SSBs as very unhealthy and they would view it unhealthier in case tax is
introduced on it.
Our research on the possibility of opposition from the public in response to taxation SSBs
has given encouraging results thus enhancing the possibility to engage in full-fledged
implementation of the taxation idea on cold drinks and other sweetened beverages. As mentioned
in the research study, it was found that ‘frequency of consumption negatively predicted the odds
of supporting a tax in a systematic manner’.
The research validates its point by stating that similar results have been found in other
studies and the consumption patterns aligns with national data. Hence, soft drinks are mostly
targeted because of their high rate of consumption in Australia.

2PUBLIC HEALTH
Another perception that supports taxation of SSBs is that the participant’s support for
taxation increased if the tax revenue generated was for the purpose of finding exercise facilities
and subsidizing fruits and vegetables.
It is time that policy makers actively engage in implementation of appropriate tax on
unhealthy food items like SSBs as it will acts as a population health promotion tool to change
public opinion about the healthiness of cold drink consumption.
To learn more about the research, refer to this link: https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/wiley/what-
young-australians-think-about-a-tax-on-sugar-sweetened-beverages-PmNkyRrDnS
Media Contact:
Tracy Phillips
Senior media coordinator, Deakin University
[e-mail]
Fact sheet:
 Importance of reducing SSBs in Australia: The prevalence of obesity and overweight in
Australia is the highest in the world. SSBs are the one of the major source of free sugars
in Australian diets and this is consumed mostly in the form of soft drinks, sports and
energy drinks. As excess consumption of free and added sugars are environmental drivers
of obesity, the main rationale behind reducing SSBs consumption rate is that it has no
nutritional value and it acts as a major risk factor of obesity and other disease like
diabetes and tooth delay. Unlike other countries, Australia lags behind in relation to