Sugar tax slashes sugary and sports drink intake by 40%

A new Drexel University study compared to residents of nearby cities like Trenton, Camden and Wilminton and discovered that Philadelphia residents were 40% less likely to drink sugary soda and 60% less likely to drink an energy drink each day.

At the same time, Philadelphians became 58% more likely to drink bottled water every day.

The authors suggest that if distributors fully pass the tax on to customers, it could increase the price of soda and energy drinks by about 20%.

They say: 'It is expected that a price increase of that magnitude will influence some consumers to stop purchasing non-essential items like sugary soda and possibly switch to a lower-priced beverage, like bottled water – and our results are in line with that.'