Table 2.
Descriptive statistics of acceptability of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax and beliefs (n 488)
| Mean | sd | Disagree | Neither | Agree | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | n | % | |||
| Acceptability of an SSB tax | ||||||||
| I support imposing an SSB tax | 3·7 | 2·0 | 212 | 43·4 | 82 | 16·8 | 194 | 39·8 |
| I support imposing an SSB tax as a strategy to reduce overweight | 3·8 | 2·0 | 209 | 42·8 | 74 | 15·2 | 205 | 42·0 |
| I support imposing an SSB tax if revenue is used for health initiatives | 4·4 | 2·0 | 155 | 31·8 | 67 | 13·7 | 266 | 54·5 |
| Beliefs about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness | ||||||||
| An SSB tax will be paid by consumers | 5·1 | 1·4 | 49 | 10·0 | 110 | 22·5 | 329 | 67·4 |
| An SSB tax will encourage producers to reduce sugar in beverages | 4·8 | 1·5 | 80 | 16·4 | 100 | 20·5 | 308 | 63·1 |
| SSB are more detrimental for health than artificially sweetened beverages | 4·6 | 1·6 | 94 | 19·3 | 137 | 28·1 | 257 | 52·7 |
| An SSB tax will save healthcare costs in the future | 4·5 | 1·6 | 106 | 21·7 | 125 | 25·6 | 257 | 52·7 |
| An SSB tax would contribute to improving people’s health | 4·4 | 1·5 | 112 | 23·0 | 128 | 26·2 | 248 | 50·8 |
| An SSB tax would contribute to improving my health* | 4·0 | 1·9 | 144 | 32·9 | 114 | 26·0 | 180 | 41·1 |
| An SSB tax would reduce people’s SSB consumption | 4·0 | 1·6 | 161 | 33·0 | 119 | 24·4 | 208 | 42·6 |
| An SSB tax would reduce my SSB consumption† | 3·9 | 1·9 | 156 | 36·7 | 108 | 25·4 | 161 | 37·9 |
| An SSB tax will be paid by producers | 3·5 | 1·7 | 231 | 47·3 | 124 | 25·4 | 133 | 27·3 |
| Beliefs about appropriateness | ||||||||
| Overweight is the responsibility of people themselves | 6·0 | 1·1 | 15 | 3·1 | 33 | 6·8 | 440 | 90·2 |
| SSB consumption contributes to the development of overweight | 5·4 | 1·3 | 32 | 6·6 | 63 | 12·9 | 393 | 80·5 |
| Overweight is a problem in the Netherlands | 5·0 | 1·4 | 55 | 11·3 | 92 | 18·9 | 341 | 69·9 |
| Overweight is the responsibility of SSB producers | 4·6 | 1·6 | 96 | 19·7 | 109 | 22·3 | 283 | 58·0 |
| SSB should be more expensive than beverages without sugar | 4·5 | 1·9 | 137 | 28·1 | 91 | 18·6 | 260 | 53·3 |
| An SSB tax limits individual freedom | 4·4 | 1·7 | 129 | 26·4 | 113 | 23·2 | 246 | 50·4 |
| Overweight is the responsibility of the government | 3·3 | 1·6 | 258 | 52·9 | 106 | 21·7 | 124 | 25·4 |
| Beliefs about economic and socioeconomic benefit | ||||||||
| Raised revenue should be used for health care | 5·3 | 1·4 | 48 | 9·8 | 78 | 16·0 | 362 | 74·2 |
| Raised revenue should be used for societal health programmes | 4·9 | 1·5 | 69 | 14·1 | 103 | 21·1 | 316 | 64·8 |
| An SSB tax is not fair for low-income people | 4·3 | 1·8 | 140 | 28·7 | 118 | 24·2 | 230 | 47·1 |
| An SSB tax has a negative economic impact | 3·6 | 1·5 | 207 | 42·4 | 165 | 33·8 | 116 | 23·8 |
| Raised revenue should be used for the general budget | 2·8 | 1·7 | 294 | 60·2 | 109 | 22·3 | 85 | 17·4 |
| Beliefs about policy adoption and implementation | ||||||||
| An SSB tax is feasible to implement in the Netherlands | 4·3 | 1·7 | 136 | 27·9 | 123 | 25·2 | 229 | 46·9 |
| Trust | ||||||||
| Public health experts give reliable information about the health risks of SSB | 4·7 | 1·4 | 74 | 15·2 | 143 | 29·3 | 271 | 55·5 |
| The government views an SSB tax as a strategy to improve people’s health | 4·0 | 1·6 | 153 | 31·4 | 131 | 26·8 | 204 | 41·8 |
| SSB producers care about people’s health | 3·4 | 1·7 | 241 | 49·4 | 126 | 25·8 | 121 | 24·8 |
*
n 438, not including sixty-two participants who responded ‘I do not drink SSB’.
†
n 425, not including seventy-five participants who responded ‘I do not drink SSB’.