To tax or not to tax: the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in the Netherlands

Abstract

The overall aim of this thesis is to generate a comprehensive understanding of the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax in the Netherlands. This thesis demonstrates that an SSB tax seems to be acceptable to a majority of the Dutch public if revenue is used for health initiatives. However, it also shows that several challenges remain to be overcome to make the adoption of an SSB tax in the Netherlands feasible – e.g. considerable disagreement among stakeholders over the effectiveness, appropriateness and (socio)economic effects of the tax, an unfavourable political context and a strong lobby against an SSB tax. This thesis further demonstrates that an SSB tax could be effective in reducing SSB purchases and that more beneficial effects on the healthiness of consumer food purchases could be expected from a nutrient profiling tax targeting a wider range of foods and beverages with a low nutritional quality