SEATTLE — Sales of sugar-sweetened beverages at stores in Seattle dropped about 30.5% in the months after the city adopted a tax on such beverages, says a new study that also looked at sales at stores in Portland, which has no such tax.
Sales in Portland declined only 10.5%, suggesting sales in Seattle dropped much more than they would have without a tax, according to the peer-reviewed study by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.
The study’s results are the first to measure the impact of Seattle’s tax on beverage sales in the city, and they may bolster claims by supporters that the controversial policy is working as intended.