Public acceptability of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and its associated factors in the Netherlands

Objective: To investigate the level of public acceptability of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax and its associated factors. Design: Participants completed an online self-administered questionnaire. Acceptability of an SSB tax was measured on a seven-point Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). Associations between acceptability and sociodemographic factors, weight status, SSB consumption and beliefs about effectiveness (e.g., 'An SSB tax would reduce people's SSB consumption'), appropriateness, socioeconomic and economic benefit, implementation and trust were assessed using multivariable linear regression analyses. Setting: The Netherlands. Participants: Dutch adults aged >= 18 years representative of the Dutch population for age, sex, education level and location (n 500). Results: Of the participants, 40 % supported and 43 % opposed an SSB tax in general. Moreover, 42 % supported (43 % opposed) an SSB tax as a strategy to reduce overweight, and 55 % supported (32 % opposed) an SSB tax if revenue is used for health initiatives. Participants with a low education level (B = -0 center dot 82, 95 % CI -1 center dot 31, -0 center dot 32), overweight (B = -0 center dot 49, 95 % CI -0 center dot 89, -0 center dot 09), moderate or high SSB consumption (B = -0 center dot 86, 95 % CI -1 center dot 30, -0 center dot 43 and B = -1 center dot 01, 95 % CI -1 center dot 47, -0 center dot 56, respectively) and households with adolescents (B = -0 center dot 57, 95 % CI -1 center dot 09, -0 center dot 05) reported a lower acceptability of an SSB tax than their counterparts. Beliefs about effectiveness, appropriateness, socioeconomic and economic benefit, implementation and trust were associated with acceptability (P < 0 center dot 001). Conclusions: Public acceptability of an SSB tax tends to be higher if revenue is used for health initiatives. The factors associated with acceptability should be taken into consideration.

Automated summary

This study investigated public acceptability of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in the Netherlands and found that acceptability tends to be higher when revenue is used for health initiatives. Factors such as lower education level, overweight status, higher SSB consumption, and households with adolescents were associated with lower acceptability of the tax.