Sugary drink tax would avoid almost 4 million cases of tooth decay: Aussie study
A 20% tax would add 511,000 health-adjusted life-years, according to researchers led by Queensland's Griffith University.
A 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could avoid 3.7 million cases of dental caries over 25 years.
With oral diseases accounting for around 2.4% of Australia’s total health burden, researchers modelled the impact of a 20% tax on the Australian adult population in 2019, comparing their future health status with a no-tax scenario.
They found that a 20% tax would also reduce periodontitis cases by 191,000; the incidence of edentulism because of dental caries by 76,000 cases; and edentulism because of periodontitis by 39,000 cases.
Significant reductions in dental caries cases begin just one year after tax implementation in the model, and reductions in edentulism and periodontitis appear at the five- and 10-year increments, respectively.
