Table 4.
Associations between acceptability of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax and beliefs (n 488)
| Support for an SSB tax† | Support for an SSB tax as a strategy to reduce overweight† | Support for an SSB tax if revenue is used for health initiatives† | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 95 % CI | P | B | 95 % CI | P | B | 95 % CI | P | |
| Beliefs about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness | |||||||||
| An SSB tax would contribute to improving people’s health | 0·72 | 0·62, 0·81 | <0·001* | 0·77 | 0·70, 0·86 | <0·001* | 0·76 | 0·66, 0·85 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax would reduce people’s SSB consumption | 0·64 | 0·55, 0·74 | <0·001* | 0·70 | 0·61, 0·79 | <0·001* | 0·64 | 0·54, 0·73 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax will save healthcare costs in the future | 0·61 | 0·51, 0·71 | <0·001* | 0·63 | 0·53, 0·73 | <0·001* | 0·66 | 0·56, 0·76 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax will encourage producers to reduce sugar in beverages | 0·61 | 0·50, 0·71 | <0·001* | 0·59 | 0·48, 0·70 | <0·001* | 0·61 | 0·50, 0·72 | <0·001* |
| SSB are more detrimental for health than artificially sweetened beverages | 0·47 | 0·37, 0·58 | <0·001* | 0·49 | 0·39, 0·60 | <0·001* | 0·41 | 0·30, 0·52 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax would contribute to improving my health‡ | 0·46 | 0·38, 0·55 | <0·001* | 0·48 | 0·39, 0·57 | <0·001* | 0·47 | 0·38, 0·56 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax would reduce my SSB consumption§ | 0·39 | 0·30, 0·48 | <0·001* | 0·42 | 0·33, 0·51 | <0·001* | 0·44 | 0·34, 0·53 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax will be paid by producers | 0·21 | 0·11, 0·31 | <0·001* | 0·22 | 0·12, 0·32 | <0·001* | 0·16 | 0·05, 0·26 | 0·003 |
| An SSB tax will be paid by consumers | 0·06 | –0·06, 0·19 | 0·323 | 0·02 | –0·10, 0·15 | 0·708 | 0·09 | –0·04, 0·22 | 0·176 |
| Beliefs about appropriateness | |||||||||
| SSB should be more expensive than beverages without sugar | 0·72 | 0·65, 0·80 | <0·001* | 0·73 | 0·65, 0·80 | <0·001* | 0·70 | 0·62, 0·78 | <0·001* |
| SSB consumption contributes to the development of overweight | 0·65 | 0·52, 0·77 | <0·001* | 0·65 | 0·52, 0·78 | <0·001* | 0·68 | 0·55, 0·82 | <0·001* |
| Overweight is a problem in the Netherlands | 0·61 | 0·50, 0·73 | <0·001* | 0·61 | 0·49, 0·73 | <0·001* | 0·60 | 0·48, 0·72 | <0·001* |
| Overweight is the responsibility of SSB producers | 0·53 | 0·43, 0·63 | <0·001* | 0·52 | 0·42, 0·62 | <0·001* | 0·49 | 0·38, 0·59 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax limits individual freedom‖ | 0·48 | 0·39, 0·58 | <0·001* | 0·50 | 0·40, 0·59 | <0·001* | 0·49 | 0·39, 0·58 | <0·001* |
| Overweight is the responsibility of the government | 0·43 | 0·32, 0·53 | <0·001* | 0·45 | 0·34, 0·56 | <0·001* | 0·37 | 0·26, 0·49 | <0·001* |
| Overweight is the responsibility of people themselves‖ | –0·07 | –0·24, 0·09 | 0·384 | –0·07 | –0·24, 0·10 | 0·408 | –0·23 | –0·40, –0·06 | 0·010 |
| Beliefs about economic and socioeconomic benefit | |||||||||
| Raised revenue should be used for societal health programmes | 0·48 | 0·37, 0·60 | <0·001* | 0·52 | 0·41, 0·63 | <0·001* | 0·57 | 0·46, 0·68 | <0·001* |
| Raised revenue should be used for healthcare | 0·41 | 0·29, 0·53 | <0·001* | 0·43 | 0·31, 0·55 | <0·001* | 0·57 | 0·45, 0·69 | <0·001* |
| An SSB tax is not fair for those with a low income‖ | 0·41 | 0·32, 0·51 | <0·001* | 0·40 | 0·30, 0·49 | <0·001* | 0·41 | 0·31, 0·51 | <0·001* |
| Raised revenue should be used for the general budget | 0·27 | 0·17, 0·38 | <0·001* | 0·29 | 0·19, 0·40 | <0·001* | 0·17 | 0·06, 0·28 | 0·002* |
| An SSB tax has a negative economic impact‖ | 0·15 | 0·03, 0·27, | 0·012 | 0·18 | 0·06, 0·30 | 0·004 | 0·22 | 0·10, 0·35 | <0·001* |
| Beliefs about policy adoption and implementation | |||||||||
| An SSB tax is feasible to implement in the Netherlands | 0·67 | 0·58, 0·76 | <0·001* | 0·68 | 0·59, 0·76 | <0·001* | 0·68 | 0·58, 0·77 | <0·001* |
| Trust | |||||||||
| Public health experts give reliable information about the health risks of SSB | 0·52 | 0·40, 0·63 | <0·001* | 0·55 | 0·44, 0·67 | <0·001* | 0·62 | 0·51, 0·74 | <0·001* |
| The government views an SSB tax as a strategy to improve people’s health | 0·47 | 0·36, 0·57 | <0·001* | 0·49 | 0·39, 0·59 | <0·001* | 0·45 | 0·34, 0·55 | <0·001* |
| SSB producers care about people’s health‖ | –0·07 | –0·17, 0·04 | 0·220 | –0·03 | –0·13, 0·08 | 0·612 | –0·03 | –0·14, 0·08 | 0·592 |
B, regression coefficient.
All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education level, weight status, SSB consumption, household composition, grocery responsibility and employment status.
*
P < 0·002.
†
Measured on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ‘strongly disagree’ to 7 ‘strongly agree’.
‡
n 438, not including participants who responded ‘I do not drink SSB’.
§
n 425, not including participants who responded ‘I do not drink SSB’.
‖
Reverse-coded items.