CHILE / Sugar beverages tax reduced consumption of these products by 21.6%

The consumption of sweetened beverages in the Chilean population has decreased by 21.6% in the last four years. This has been demonstrated in a study recently published by the University of Chile . According to the report, the application of taxes to this type of products has been a determining factor in reducing consumption.

The Opinion of the Researchers

The Professor Cristóbal Cuadrado Coordinator and Head of the A Chilean Study states that one-third of the sugars in the [39] Chileans diet comes from sugar water, soft drinks and juices. These figures place the country of the South in the first places among the countries that consume this type of drink.

Official figures indicate that 31.2% of the population suffers from some degree of obesity and at least 3.2% of the population, that is, 470,000 people have a diagnosis of morbid obesity [VIDEO]. expert researchers led by Professor Cuadrado, indicate that since 2014 to date, there was a reduction in the consumption of sweetened beverages of 700 milliliters per month for each Chilean. So, now every person ingests at least 3.5 liters of these products.

The application of the tax

In 2014, Michelle Bachelet, then President of Chile, promulgated a tax reform to finance university education, Additional tax on sweetened beverages . This was a special tax applicable to beverages [VIDEO] containing non-alcoholic sweeteners, colorants or flavors in its formulation.

After approval of this privilege two categories were considered: beverages with concentration equal to or greater than 6.25 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters and those having a lower concentration. Those who are above the established concentration must pay 18% of taxes, while those with a lower concentration of monosaccharide must pay 10%. Before the adoption of this law, all sweetened drinks were taxed at 13%

A positive impact

The professor underlines that despite the small scale of the tax established, the measure has managed to change the consumption of these products. in the houses. This is a positive indicator of the potential use of these tax measures in changing consumption styles. Similar cases have been reported with this type of tax legislation of countries such as Mexico and in the state of California, United States .