With obesity and diabetes at record levels, many public health experts think governments should tax unhealthy food and drinks. Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, and Mexico have such taxes. So do Berkeley, California and the Navajo Nation. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is waging a high-profile campaign to get Britain to tax sugar, and similar discussions are underway throughout the United States.

Does it make sense to tax soda, sweets, and junk food? Would it improve health? Are there unintended side-effects? Do such taxes unfairly impinge on consumer freedom?

An expert panel explored these questions and more.

program

Panelists

• Maeve Gearing, research associate, Urban Institute                 
• Baylen Linnekin, adjunct professor, George Mason University Law School
• Donald Marron, director, economic policy initiatives and Institute fellow, Urban Institute
• Y. Claire Wang, co-director, Obesity Prevention Initiative, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Moderator

• Margot Sanger-Katz, health care correspondent, New York Times

Event Materials

• Event Agenda 
• Speaker Biographies

• Should We Tax Unhealthy Foods and Drinks?

For inquiries regarding this event, please contact [email protected]. 

Support for this event has been provided by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.