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Taxes, labels, or nudges? Public acceptance of various interventions designed to reduce sugar intake

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  • Hagmann, Désirée
  • Siegrist, Michael
  • Hartmann, Christina

Abstract

This study investigated public acceptance of several specific government interventions to lower sugar intake in the population, using data from the first wave (2017) of a large survey (Swiss Food Panel 2.0) on eating behavior conducted in the German- and French-speaking regions of Switzerland (N = 5238; 48.7% men). Acceptance varied considerably among different interventions; the least intrusive (i.e., a front-of-package label on products highlighting the sugar content and public health campaigns) garnered the most support, while more restrictive interventions (i.e., taxation, substitution with artificial sweeteners, and the reduction of portion sizes) generated higher resistance. Sugar consciousness and diet-related health consciousness were the strongest predictors of acceptance. Support was stronger among women, dieters, residents from the French-speaking areas of Switzerland, and people living in urban areas. Certain risk groups including overweight participants and those consuming higher amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages were more strongly opposed to these kinds of interventions. The different levels of acceptance must be taken into account by governments when planning interventions designed to reduce sugar intake.

Suggested Citation

  • Hagmann, Désirée & Siegrist, Michael & Hartmann, Christina, 2018. "Taxes, labels, or nudges? Public acceptance of various interventions designed to reduce sugar intake," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 156-165.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:79:y:2018:i:c:p:156-165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2018.06.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dragos C Petrescu & Gareth J Hollands & Dominique-Laurent Couturier & Yin-Lam Ng & Theresa M Marteau, 2016. "Public Acceptability in the UK and USA of Nudging to Reduce Obesity: The Example of Reducing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Beatrix Eugster & Rafael Lalive & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2011. "The Demand for Social Insurance: Does Culture Matter?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(556), pages 413-448, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Romain Cadario & Pierre Chandon, 2019. "Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges," Post-Print hal-02508983, HAL.
    2. Dobromir Stoyanov, 2021. "The role of vending channels in marketing: A systematic review and taxonomy of studies," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 654-679, June.
    3. Romain Espinosa & Anis Nassar, 2021. "The Acceptability of Food Policies," Post-Print halshs-03210654, HAL.
    4. Cadario, Romain & Chandon, Pierre, 2019. "Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-6.
    5. Lan Nguyen & Hans De Steur, 2021. "Public Acceptability of Policy Interventions to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Urban Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Reynolds, J.P. & Archer, S. & Pilling, M. & Kenny, M. & Hollands, G.J. & Marteau, T.M., 2019. "Public acceptability of nudging and taxing to reduce consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and food: A population-based survey experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Agnieszka Piekara, 2022. "Sugar Tax or What? The Perspective and Preferences of Consumers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, October.
    8. Shoshanna Griver & Itay Fischhendler, 2021. "The Social Construction of Food Security: The Israeli Case," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1303-1321, October.
    9. Saulais, Laure & Massey, Camille & Perez-Cueto, Federico J.A. & Appleton, Katherine M. & Dinnella, Caterina & Monteleone, Erminio & Depezay, Laurence & Hartwell, Heather & Giboreau, Agnès, 2019. "When are “Dish of the Day” nudges most effective to increase vegetable selection?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 15-27.
    10. Julie Metta, 2020. "Promoting discount schemes as a nudge strategy to enhance environmental behaviour," Working Papers 2020.11, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    11. Bendz, Anna & Bäckstedt, Felix & Harring, Niklas & Martin Persson, U., 2023. "Why do people accept or reject climate policies targeting food consumption? Unpacking justifications in the public debate in online social forums," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Braut, Beatrice & Zaccagni, Sarah, 2023. "Emotional reactions to food interventions: Evidence from an online survey," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 419-426.
    13. Huang, Hsien-Long, 2023. "Challenges for contactless online food delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan: Moderating effects of perceived government response," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

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