title: Why fat taxes won't make us thin.
abstract: Increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity has led policy-makers to consider health-related taxes to limit the consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages. Such taxes are currently already in place in countries in Europe (e.g. Hungary, France and Finland) and in various states in the USA. Although these taxes are possibly efficient in reducing by a small amount the consumption of targeted products if the tax is fully transmitted to the consumer, there is too little available evidence on what will be consumed instead and whether these food substitutions undermine the hoped-for health benefits of the tax. We also know very little on how the food supply side will respond and what overall impact this will have. Without a proper appreciation of the potential indirect impacts we do not know the overall impact of taxes foods on unhealthy foods and beverages and further that there is a very real possibility that they may not be beneficial for health after all.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), London WC1E 7HT, UK Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), London WC1H 0PD, UK.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cornelsen
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), London WC1H 0PD, UK Department of Population Health, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, LSHTM, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), London WC1H 0PD, UK Department of Population Health, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, LSHTM, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dangour
authors.affiliation: Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), London WC1H 0PD, UK Faculty of Public Health and Policy, LSHTM, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007881:Legislation, Food / Q000191:economics*; D050177:Overweight / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013660:Taxes / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*
keywords: economics; food and nutrition; obesity