Consumption of sugary beverages is down for the second year in a row in Mexico, suggesting “that the results of such a tax may be far more long-lasting,” says The New York Times. It says a study published online by Health Affairs found a 5.5 percent decline in sales of sugary drinks in 2014, the first year of the tax, and sales in 2015 were 9.7 percent lower than in 2013, the year before the tax took effect.
The largest reductions in consumption in both years were among the poorest Mexicans, said the Times.
Nutrition professor Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina, an author of the study, said the results suggest, similar to tobacco, “a real habituation effect. Over time people seem to get more weaned away from the sugary beverages, and that increases the impact of the tax.” According to the Times, “The results could have consequences for public health.”