In 2013, Mexico passed a tax right out of the public health literature. And now the theoretical debate is becoming more real. Preliminary data from the Mexican government and public health researchers in the United States finds that the tax prompted a substantial increase in prices and a resulting drop in the sales of drinks sweetened with sugar, particularly among the country’s poorest consumers. The long-term effects of the policy remain uncertain, but the tax is being heralded by advocates, who say it could translate to the United States.
"It’s exactly what we thought the tax would do," said Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, whose team conducted the research.
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