Newfoundland and Labrador made history in September as the first Canadian province to implement a sugar-sweetened beverage tax. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes also exist outside of Canada, including in Mexico, Philadelphia and the United Kingdom. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the tax amounts to 20 cents per liter of sugar-sweetened beverage.
Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation is supported by many global and national health organizations, such as the World Health Organization, Diabetes Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Taxes are a popular public health policy because of associations between sugary beverage consumption and Type 2 diabetes and weight gain.
