Grant: Operating Grant: CCS/CIHR Action Grants

Need for project Fueled by increased availability of sugary drinks (e.g. energy drinks, sport drinks), Canadians consume an average of 251ml (133 kcal) of sugary drinks every day, even as high as 578 ml (266 kcal) daily.Intakes of sugary drinks is estimated to cause 3 million cases of obesity and 106,701 cancer cases in Canada in the next 25 years.Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) announced a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax (May'21) which has significant implications for diet, obesity, and cancer incidence. Goal of project We will evaluate the effectiveness of the NL SSB tax by assessing changes in beverage prices, intake, availability, and marketing in NL pre-tax and 12 months later, compared to other provinces. We aim to describe the different impacts of the tax in food stores and in NL consumers. By exploring a SSB tax in NL with significant disease burden and fiscal concerns, we provide rare insight into the value of economic policy for primary cancer prevention. Project description Building on the International Food Policy Study (IFPS), we will record beverage products, prices, and promotions in food stores in NL and other provinces via store visits/webscraping. Consumer beverage intake, tax awareness and demographics will be assessed using the IFPS online 24-hour dietary survey. The effectiveness of the tax will be evaluated by comparing changes in food store taxed/untaxed beverage prices and consumer intake pre-tax to 12 months later, and between NL and other provinces. Future impact An SSB tax is a novel, cost-effective primary cancer prevention intervention - a national sugary drink tax is estimated to prevent 21,777 new cases of obesity-related cancers in 25 years. The SSB tax can be progressive if SSB intakes are equitably reduced while tax revenues are reinvested in other social/health interventions, such as subsidizing healthy food. Our study will reveal real-life effectiveness of a SSB tax in a rural province with extreme food insecurity, health care costs, and SSB intakes. Knowledge generated will advance food policy design and implementation for cancer prevention through diet in Canada and internationally.