Abstract
There is a growing trend worldwide to use a variety of tools to address the growing problem of overweight and obesity in population. One of them are the taxation mechanisms applied to sugar-sweetened beverages, which are expected to influence the common eating behaviours, but also have impact on the market and public finances. This makes this solution to be highly entangled in the complex of social and intersectoral interests and its feasibility may depend on effective identification of opportunities and threats arising of the social and economic environment. Identification of barriers and facilitators that may affect the adoption of SBB taxation. We used semi-structured interviews with 20 individuals representing key public health stakeholders in Poland, including patient and health-related non-governmental organizations, food producers and retailers, political parties, medical professionals, and public institutions responsible for shaping nutrition policy to identify most important standpoints and acceptance of the SSB tax. We used MAXQDA v2020 to analyse the collected data. Initial results show that stakeholders tend to expressed conflicting views on the effectiveness, relevance and socio-economic impact of the SSB tax. The allocation of additional tax revenues was raising doubts. On the other hand, the political debate was highly superficial with strong populism arising of the presented positions. Initial conclusions indicate the necessity to conduct a thorough public debate and improvements in terms of public communication to increase social awareness, sealing and refining the implemented solutions. Close cooperation with market players and non-governmental organizations is highly recommended.
Presenters
Katarzyna BrukałoDepartment of Health Policy, School of Health Sciences, Medical University of Silesia, Slaskie, Poland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Public Health Policies and Practices
KEYWORDS
SSB TAX, BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS, STAKEHOLDERS' VIEW
