IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0207576.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The palatability of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation: A content analysis of newspaper coverage of the UK sugar debate

Author

Listed:
  • Christina H Buckton
  • Chris Patterson
  • Lirije Hyseni
  • S Vittal Katikireddi
  • Ffion Lloyd-Williams
  • Alex Elliott-Green
  • Simon Capewell
  • Shona Hilton

Abstract

Background: Excess sugar consumption, including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), contributes to a variety of negative health outcomes, particularly for young people. The mass media play a powerful role in influencing public and policy-makers’ perceptions of public health issues and their solutions. We analysed how sugar and SSB policy debates were presented in UK newspapers at a time of heightened awareness and following the announcement of the UK Government’s soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), to inform future public health advocacy. Methods & findings: We carried out quantitative content analysis of articles discussing the issues of sugar and SSB consumption published in 11 national newspapers from April 2015 to November 2016. 684 newspaper articles were analysed using a structured coding frame. Coverage peaked in line with evidence publication, campaigner activities and policy events. Articles predominantly supportive of SSB taxation (23.5%) outnumbered those that were predominantly oppositional (14.2%). However, oppositional articles outnumbered supportive ones in the month of the announcement of the SDIL. Sugar and SSB consumption were presented as health risks, particularly affecting young people, with the actions of industry often identified as the cause of the public health problem. Responsibility for addressing sugar overconsumption was primarily assigned to government intervention. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the policy landscape favouring fiscal solutions to curb sugar and SSB consumption has benefited from media coverage characterising the issue as an industry-driven problem. Media coverage may drive greater public acceptance of the SDIL and any future taxation of products containing sugar. However, future advocacy efforts should note the surge in opposition coinciding with the announcement of the SDIL, which echoes similar patterns of opposition observed in tobacco control debates.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina H Buckton & Chris Patterson & Lirije Hyseni & S Vittal Katikireddi & Ffion Lloyd-Williams & Alex Elliott-Green & Simon Capewell & Shona Hilton, 2018. "The palatability of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation: A content analysis of newspaper coverage of the UK sugar debate," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0207576
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207576
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207576&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0207576?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Niederdeppe, J. & Gollust, S.E. & Jarlenski, M.P. & Nathanson, A.M. & Barry, C.L., 2013. "News coverage of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes: Pro- and antitax arguments in public discourse," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(6), pages 92-98.
    2. Gollust, S.E. & Niederdeppe, J. & Barry, C.L., 2013. "Framing the consequences of childhood obesity to increase public support for obesity prevention policy," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(11), pages 96-102.
    3. Maria Eugenia Bonilla-Chacin & Roberto Magno Iglesias & Agustina Sara Suaya & Claudia Trezza & Claudia Macias, 2016. "Learning from the Mexican Experience with Taxes on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Energy-dense Foods of Low Nutritional Value: Poverty and Social Impact Analysis," Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Discussion Paper Series 106595, The World Bank.
    4. Hilton, Shona & Wood, Karen & Patterson, Chris & Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal, 2014. "Implications for alcohol minimum unit pricing advocacy: What can we learn for public health from UK newsprint coverage of key claim-makers in the policy debate?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 157-164.
    5. Däubler, Thomas & Benoit, Kenneth & Mikhaylov, Slava & Laver, Michael, 2012. "Natural Sentences as Valid Units for Coded Political Texts," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 42(4), pages 937-951, October.
    6. Hilton, Shona & Hunt, Kate & Langan, Mairi & Bedford, Helen & Petticrew, Mark, 2010. "Newsprint media representations of the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme for cervical cancer prevention in the UK (2005-2008)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 942-950, March.
    7. Tekeshe A Mekonnen & Michelle C Odden & Pamela G Coxson & David Guzman & James Lightwood & Y Claire Wang & Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, 2013. "Health Benefits of Reducing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake in High Risk Populations of California: Results from the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Policy Model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(12), pages 1-9, December.
    8. María Eugenia Bonilla-Chacín & Roberto Iglesias & Agustina Suaya & Claudia Trezza & Claudia Macías, 2016. "Learning from the Mexican Experience with Taxes on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Energy-Dense Foods of Low Nutrition," Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Knowledge Briefs 106654, The World Bank.
    9. M A Colchero & Carlos Manuel Guerrero-López & Mariana Molina & Juan Angel Rivera, 2016. "Beverages Sales in Mexico before and after Implementation of a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-8, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. David Pell & Tarra L Penney & Oliver Mytton & Adam Briggs & Steven Cummins & Mike Rayner & Harry Rutter & Peter Scarborough & Stephen J Sharp & Richard D Smith & Martin White & Jean Adams, 2020. "Anticipatory changes in British household purchases of soft drinks associated with the announcement of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy: A controlled interrupted time series analysis," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Law, Cherry & Cornelsen, Laura & Adams, Jean & Pell, David & Rutter, Harry & White, Martin & Smith, Richard, 2020. "The impact of UK soft drinks industry levy on manufacturers’ domestic turnover," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andalón, Mabel & Gibson, John, 2018. "The ‘soda tax’ is unlikely to make Mexicans lighter or healthier: New evidence on biases in elasticities of demand for soda," MPRA Paper 86370, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Mabel Andalon & John Gibson, 2017. "The 'Soda Tax' is Unlikely to Make Mexicans Lighter: New Evidence on Biases in Elasticities of Demand for Soda," Working Papers in Economics 17/07, University of Waikato.
    3. Law, Cherry & Cornelsen, Laura & Adams, Jean & Pell, David & Rutter, Harry & White, Martin & Smith, Richard, 2020. "The impact of UK soft drinks industry levy on manufacturers’ domestic turnover," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    4. John Gibson & Bonggeun Kim, 2017. "30 Years of Being Wrong: A Systematic Review and Critical Test of the Cox and Wohlgenant Approach to Quality-Adjusted Prices in Demand Analysis," Working Papers in Economics 17/16, University of Waikato.
    5. Stroope, Samuel & Tom, Joshua C., 2017. "In-Home Firearm Access among US Adolescents and the Role of Religious Subculture: Results from a Nationally Representative Study," SocArXiv kns57, Center for Open Science.
    6. Molly Thomas-Meyer & Oliver Mytton & Jean Adams, 2017. "Public responses to proposals for a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages: A thematic analysis of online reader comments posted on major UK news websites," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, November.
    7. Ahmed Mohammed Alqarni, 2020. "Saudi Smokers' Behaviors After a 100% Tax Increase," International Journal of Marketing Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(1), pages 150-150, March.
    8. MacLean, Sarah & Room, Robin & Cook, Megan & Mugavin, Janette & Callinan, Sarah, 2022. "Affordances of home drinking in accounts from light and heavy drinkers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    9. Elena Ye. Chernyakova & Anna F. Bogatyreva & Ekaterina A. Yastrebova, 2023. "Международный Опыт Налогообложения Сахаросодержащих Напитков," Russian Economic Development (in Russian), Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, issue 12, pages 65-73, December.
    10. Frederick, David A. & Saguy, Abigail C. & Gruys, Kjerstin, 2016. "Culture, health, and bigotry: How exposure to cultural accounts of fatness shape attitudes about health risk, health policies, and weight-based prejudice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 271-279.
    11. Ortiz, Selena E. & Zimmerman, Frederick J. & Adler, Gary J., 2016. "Increasing public support for food-industry related, obesity prevention policies: The role of a taste-engineering frame and contextualized values," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 142-153.
    12. Kolodinsky, Jane & Reynolds, Travis & Baker, Daniel & Watts, Richard, 2015. "Regulatory Capture and Support for and Opposition to Controversial Food System Policy Issues: An Exploratory Analysis," 143rd Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, March 25-27, 2015, Naples, Italy 202700, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Carters-White, Lauren & Chambers, Stephanie & Skivington, Kathryn & Hilton, Shona, 2021. "Whose rights deserve protection? Framing analysis of responses to the 2016 Committee of Advertising Practice consultation on the non-broadcast advertising of foods and soft drinks to children," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    14. Mantzari, Eleni & Reynolds, James P. & Jebb, Susan A. & Hollands, Gareth J. & Pilling, Mark A. & Marteau, Theresa M., 2022. "Public support for policies to improve population and planetary health: A population-based online experiment assessing impact of communicating evidence of multiple versus single benefits," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    15. Hutter, Swen & Kriesi, Hanspeter, 2022. "Politicising immigration in times of crisis," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 341-365.
    16. Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi & Shona Hilton & Chris Bonell & Lyndal Bond, 2014. "Understanding the Development of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol in Scotland: A Qualitative Study of the Policy Process," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-10, March.
    17. Hannah G Lawman & Sara N Bleich & Jiali Yan & Michael T LeVasseur & Nandita Mitra & Christina A Roberto, 2019. "Unemployment claims in Philadelphia one year after implementation of the sweetened beverage tax," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-10, March.
    18. Borumand, Ali & Marandi, Ahmadreza & Nookabadi, Ali S. & Atan, Zümbül, 2024. "An oracle-based algorithm for robust planning of production routing problems in closed-loop supply chains of beverage glass bottles," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    19. Heike Klüver, 2015. "The promises of quantitative text analysis in interest group research: A reply to Bunea and Ibenskas," European Union Politics, , vol. 16(3), pages 456-466, September.
    20. Allen, S. & Goddard, E., 2018. "The Effectiveness of High Sugar Warning Labels on Breakfast Cereals," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275885, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0207576. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.