scholarly journals Generating Political Commitment for Regulatory Interventions Targeting Dietary Harms and Poor Nutrition: A Case Study on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxation in Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Dry ◽  
Phillip Baker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Ideological Resistance

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are an effective public health policy intervention for improving nutrition and public health. Although implemented in over 50 jurisdictions worldwide, this intervention remains vastly underutilised, and in Australia political commitment for such a tax is low. The aim of this study is to understand the politics of SSB taxation in Australia, what factors have constrained political commitment for a tax, and what might enable such commitment in future. Methods: We adopted a case study design, guided by a theoretical framework developed from the political economy of nutrition literature. Data were collected from 16 interviews with informants from multiple sectors, supported by media articles, journal articles, and grey literature. Data were coded and organized by thematic analysis, and synthesised into the final results. Results: Nutrition actors have made significant progress in generating commitment for a SSB tax by producing relevant evidence, raising awareness, advocating for action, employing resonating frames, collaborating with civil society organisations, and forming coalitions increasing their overall cohesion. Nevertheless, political commitment for a SSB tax is low and was found to be impeded by the powerful influence of the food, beverage, and sugar industries, opposition from both major Australian political parties, ideological resistance to regulation, a low quality monitoring and surveillance system for food and nutrition, and limited public advocacy. The influence of nutrition actors was also impeded by weak connections to key policymakers and missed collaborative opportunities with pro-SSB tax organisations. Conclusion: The identification of several impediments provides an explanation for why political commitment for a SSB tax is low in Australia and reveals several opportunities for how it might be generated in the future. Political commitment may come about through, for example, actions to limit the influence of industry in policy decision-making, and by strengthening the existing pro-SSB tax coalition.

scholarly journals Corporations’ use and misuse of evidence to influence health policy: a case study of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Jonas Fooks ◽  
Simon Williams ◽  
Graham Box ◽  
Gary Sacks
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Economic Modelling ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverages ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are a major source of sugar in the diet. Although trends in consumption vary across regions, in many countries, particularly LMICs, their consumption continues to increase. In response, a growing number of governments have introduced a tax on SSBs. SSB manufacturers have opposed such taxes, disputing the role that SSBs play in diet-related diseases and the effectiveness of SSB taxation, and alleging major economic impacts. Given the importance of evidence to effective regulation of products harmful to human health, we scrutinised industry submissions to the South African government’s consultation on a proposed SSB tax and examined their use of evidence. Results Corporate submissions were underpinned by several strategies involving the misrepresentation of evidence. First, references were used in a misleading way, providing false support for key claims. Second, raw data, which represented a pliable, alternative evidence base to peer reviewed studies, was misused to dispute both the premise of targeting sugar for special attention and the impact of SSB taxes on SSB consumption. Third, purposively selected evidence was used in conjunction with other techniques, such as selective quoting from studies and omitting important qualifying information, to promote an alternative evidential narrative to that supported by the weight of peer-reviewed research. Fourth, a range of mutually enforcing techniques that inflated the effects of SSB taxation on jobs, public revenue generation, and gross domestic product, was used to exaggerate the economic impact of the tax. This “hyperbolic accounting” included rounding up figures in original sources, double counting, and skipping steps in economic modelling. Conclusions Our research raises fundamental questions concerning the bona fides of industry information in the context of government efforts to combat diet-related diseases. The beverage industry’s claims against SSB taxation rest on a complex interplay of techniques, that appear to be grounded in evidence, but which do not observe widely accepted approaches to the use of either scientific or economic evidence. These techniques are similar, but not identical, to those used by tobacco companies and highlight the problems of introducing evidence-based policies aimed at managing the market environment for unhealthful commodities.

Public-private partnerships and collaboration in digital health: a scoping review and case study analysis of applications during the COVID-19 pandemic (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishali Kirit Patel ◽  
Elinor Wahal ◽  
Adriana Mancilla Galindo ◽  
Alejandra Rodarte ◽  
Tim Jesudason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Stage Process

BACKGROUND The emergence of digital technologies over the past decade has presented a novel opportunity to address healthcare challenges associated with COVID-19 and accelerate progress towards achieving the health-related goals under the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have played a vital role in scaling up digital health solutions and disseminating curated scientific information in the face of the infodemic. However, several challenges remain around the effectiveness of PPP-related digital solutions and antagonistic viewpoints of engaging the private sector. We sought to evaluate the role of public-private partnerships in the digital public health space during COVID-19 and identify key lessons learned and challenges in the uptake of digital health solutions globally. OBJECTIVE Electronic and grey literature search results from PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar were screened by one reviewer through a two-stage process. We included all relevant systematic reviews, interventional, observational, and descriptive studies published in English published from January 2020 to June 2021. Two case study analyses on digital health chatbots, informed by expert opinion, were also performed to assess for the role of public-private partnerships in advancing digital public health solutions. METHODS Electronic and grey literature search results from PubMed, Google, and Google Scholar were screened by one reviewer through a two-stage process. We included all relevant systematic reviews, interventional, observational, and descriptive studies published in English published from January 2020 to June 2021. Two case study analyses on digital health chatbots, informed by expert opinion, were also performed to assess for the role of public-private partnerships in advancing digital public health solutions. RESULTS Forty-five articles met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis, the majority of which were secondary research. Results of the publications can be broadly categorized into three groups: (1) models and definitions of public-private partnerships used in the healthcare space; (2) purposes of and motivations of public-private partnerships in global public health; and (3) and facilitators, barriers, and challenges to date. CONCLUSIONS The literature review as well as the case studies analysis reveal that PPPs can represent a valid option for tackling global healthcare issues with a digital health approach. Further research is needed to complement the initial findings of the present paper, as well as to assess a wider pool of case studies and the different features that they might present.

Not so sweet refrain: sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, industry opposition and harnessing the lessons learned from tobacco control legal challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita George
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Tobacco Control ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Sugary Drinks ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage Industry ◽  
Food And Beverage

AbstractAs a growing number of countries implement, or announce plans to introduce, a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, this paper explores the public health rationale for such a tax and provides an overview of the international normative and policy instruments supporting the introduction of fiscal measures on sugary drinks. After examining parallels between the legal arguments raised by the food and beverage industry in opposition to SSB taxes and those raised by the tobacco industry in response to tobacco control measures, this paper draws four key lessons that will assist countries to design effective and robust SSB tax measures and counter food and beverage industry opposition: regulatory distinctions in tax coverage should be based on bona fide, evidence-based reasoning; evidence-based measures need to be tailored to a country’s public health objectives as part of a comprehensive strategy to address unhealthy diet consumption; procedural requirements and due process should be observed in the drafting and implementation of the measure; and regulatory space exists within domestic constitutions, laws and international trade and investment agreements recognising the sovereign right of states to regulate in the interests of public health.

State Preemption: An Emerging Threat to Local Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxation

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e10
Author(s):  
Eric Crosbie ◽  
Jennifer L. Pomeranz ◽  
Kathrine E. Wright ◽  
Samantha Hoeper ◽  
Laura Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Beverage Industry

We sought to examine the strategies promoting and countering state preemption of local sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes in the United States. Using Crosbie and Schmidt’s tobacco preemption framework, we analyzed key tactics used by the SSB industry to achieve state preemption of local taxes identified in news sources, industry Web sites, government reports, and public documents. Starting in 2017, 4 states rejected and 4 passed laws preempting local SSB taxes. The beverage industry attempted to secure state preemption through front groups and trade associations, lobbying key policymakers, inserting preemptive language into other legislation, and issuing legal threats and challenges. The public health community’s response is in the early stages of engaging in media advocacy, educating policymakers, mobilizing national collaboration, and expanding legal networks. State preemption of local SSB taxes is in the early stages but will likely scale up as local tax proposals increase. The public health community has a substantial role in proactively working to prevent preemption concurrent with health policy activity and using additional strategies successfully used in tobacco control to stop preemption diffusion. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print February 18, 2021: e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306062 )

scholarly journals Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, correlates and interventions among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities: a scoping review

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. e023630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M Wright ◽  
Joanne Dono ◽  
Aimee L Brownbill ◽  
Odette Pearson (nee Gibson) ◽  
Jacqueline Bowden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Torres Strait Islander People ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Torres Strait

ObjectivesSugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is reported to be disproportionally high compared with the general Australian population. This review aimed to scope the literature documenting SSB consumption and interventions to reduce SSB consumption among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Findings will inform strategies to address SSB consumption in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.MethodsPubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, Informit, Joanna Briggs Institute EBP, Mura databases and grey literature were searched for articles published between January 1980 and June 2018. Studies were included if providing data specific to an Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander population’s SSB consumption or an intervention that focused on reducing SSB consumption in this population.DesignSystematic scoping review.Results59 articles were included (1846 screened). While reported SSB consumption was high, there were age-related and community-related differences observed in some studies. Most studies were conducted in remote or rural settings. Implementation of nutrition interventions that included an SSB component has built progressively in remote communities since the 1980s with a growing focus on community-driven, culturally sensitive approaches. More recent studies have focused exclusively on SSB consumption. Key SSB-related intervention elements included incentivising healthier options; reducing availability of less-healthy options; nutrition education; multifaceted or policy implementation (store nutrition or government policy).ConclusionsThere was a relatively large number of studies reporting data on SSB consumption and/or sales, predominantly from remote and rural settings. During analysis it was subjectively clear that the more impactful studies were those which were community driven or involved extensive community consultation and collaboration. Extracting additional SSB-specific consumption data from an existing nationally representative survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people could provide detailed information for demographic subgroups and benchmarks for future interventions. It is recommended that a consistent, culturally appropriate, set of consumption measures be developed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document