South Africa’s Health Promotion Levy on pricing and acquisition of beverages in small stores and supermarkets

OBJECTIVE: In response to concern over rising sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, in April 2018, South Africa became the first Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country to implement an SSB tax. We assess changes in pricing and acquisition of beverages from local supermarkets and small stores among 18-39-year-old adults living in one township in the Western Cape, before and after tax implementation. This study is among the first evaluations of an SSB tax on the local food environment in a low-income township. DESIGN: Store beverage pricing and participant surveys were cross-sectional, analysed 1 month before and 11 months after implementation of the tax (March 2018 and March 2019). SETTING: Langa, Western Cape, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: 2520 in 2019). RESULTS: Prices of taxed SSB increased significantly among small shops and supermarkets between 2018 and 2019. There were non-significant decreases in prices of untaxed beverages in small shops, but prices of untaxed beverages increased in supermarkets. Across all store types, there was a 9 percentage point decrease in the probability of purchasing regular soda weekly pre/post-implementation. Reductions in purchasing were larger in small shops than supermarkets. CONCLUSIONS: We found some differential impacts of the levy on pricing and acquisition of beverages by retailer type in one low-income township. As other SSA countries consider similar fiscal policies to curb soda consumption, obesity and related diseases, this work can be used to understand the implications of these policies in the retail setting.