Royo-Bordonada, Miguel AngelFernandez-Escobar, CarlosSimon Mendez, LorenaSanz-Barbero, BelénPadilla, Javier2019-11-282019-11-282019-11-21BMC Public Health. 2019 Nov 21;19(1):15531471-2458http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/8721BACKGROUND: Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is contributing to the obesity epidemic. On 28 March 2017, Catalonia enacted a law levying an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages for public health reasons. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the tax on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in Catalonia (Spain). METHODS: Before-and-after study to assess changes in the prevalence of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among 1929 persons aged 12 to 40 years residing in low-income neighbourhoods of Barcelona (intervention) and Madrid (control). Beverage consumption frequency was ascertained via a validated questionnaire administered during the month prior to the tax's introduction (May 2017) and again at 1 year after it had come into force. The effect of the tax was obtained using Poisson regression models with robust variance weighted using propensity scores. RESULTS: While the prevalence of regular consumers of taxed beverages fell by 39% in Barcelona as compared to Madrid, the prevalence of consumers of untaxed beverages remained stable. The main reason cited by more than two-thirds of those surveyed for reducing their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was the increase in price, followed by a heightened awareness of their health effects. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of the Catalonian excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages was followed by a reduction in the prevalence of regular consumers of taxed beverages.engVoRCataloniaSpainSugar-sweetened beveragesTaxesAtribución 4.0 Internacional31752787191155310.1186/s12889-019-7908-51471-2458BMC public healthopen access