Taxation And Other Economic Incentives As Health-Promoting Tools

Taxation and other economic incentives as health-promoting tools: a focus on tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy diets

Organizers:

• Professor Amandine Garde, University of Liverpool
• Professor Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris

Venue:

• University of Liverpool London Campus, 33 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AG

Conference Rationale

Governments across the world increasingly recognize the urgency of lowering the alarming rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) resulting in large part from the consumption of commodities such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy foods. As evidence shows price is a major determinant of consumption choices, and taxation and other economic measures may act as a disincentive to the consumption of these commodities, policy makers have started to use these instruments as part of their NCD prevention strategies.

The conference will address the following questions:

1. What is the evidence base supporting tax and economic incentives as part of NCD prevention strategies? In particular, what is the importance of price in influencing consumer choices? (Evidence)
2. How can / should the price be affected to limit the consumption of tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and unhealthy food? (Effectiveness)
3. What are the respective advantages or disadvantages of taxation and minimum pricing measures? (Cost Effectiveness)
4. What do we know of the contribution which existing price-related measures have made (or are likely to make) to NCD prevention? (Empirical Analysis)
5. How should price measures – if adopted – be designed to be as effective as possible? (Design)
6. When will a price measure be considered incompatible with international economic law – and international trade law and the European Union internal market law more specifically? (Legality)

Program

• 8.45-9.15:
  Coffee and registration
• 9.15-9.20:
  Welcome and introduction

Professor Amandine Garde, University of Liverpool

Professor Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris

• 9.20-9.30:
  Opening address

Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Irish Department of Health

• 9.30-11.30
  Price-based mechanisms and NCD prevention: an introduction
• 9.30-9.40:
  Introduction by the Chair

Professor Ian Gilmore, University of Liverpool

• 9.40-10.00:
  Price, marketing strategies and NCD prevention

Professor Gerard Hastings, Stirling University

• 10.00-10.20:
  Price measures and the economics of NCD prevention

Professor Franco Sassi, OECD and Imperial College London

• 10.20-11.35:
  Discussion
• 10.35-10.55:
  The legality of price-based regulatory interventions

Professor Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris

Professor Amandine Garde, University of Liverpool

• 10.55-11.15:
  Industry practices to counter price-based regulatory interventions

Professor Simon Capewell, University of Liverpool

• 11.15-11.30:
  Discussion
• 11.30-11.45:
  Coffee break
• 11.45-13.15
  Minimum unit pricing and other price-based measures intended to lower alcohol consumption
• 11.45-11.55:
  Introduction by the Chair

Dr. Yiannos Tolias, European Commission

• 11.55-12.05:
  Alcohol pricing policies in Europe

Dr. Lars Moller, World Health Organization

• 12.05-12.20:
  A historical perspective on alcohol pricing interventions

Dr. Henry Yeomans, University of Leeds

• 12.20-12.35:
  The Alcohol Minimum Pricing (Scotland) Act 2012

Dr. Arianna Andreangeli, University of Edinburgh

• 12.35-12.55:
  Evidencing the effectiveness of price-based health interventions in the case-law of the EU Court of Justice

Oliver Bartlett, University of Liverpool

Dr. Angus MacCulloch, University of Lancaster

• 12.55-13.15:
  Discussion
• 13.15-14.00:
  Lunch break
• 14.00-16.45 (including a coffee break)
  Taxing unhealthy food: ‘soda taxes’
• 14.00-14.15:
  Introduction by the Chair

Dr. Temo Waqanivalu and Jo Jewell, World Health Organization

• 14.15-14.30:
  Changing the price of sugar-sweetened beverages: what is the effect on the demand for drinks and snacks more widely in the UK?

Diana Quirmbach et al., London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

• 14.30-14.45:
  Impact on non-alcoholic beverage sales of a 10 pence levy on sugar-sweetened beverages within a national chain of restaurants in the UK: interrupted time-series analysis

Professor Laura Cornelsen et al., London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

• 14.45-15.00:
  Price measurement and the tax incidence of behavioral taxes: empirical evidence using scanner data (France)

Professor Fabrice Etilé et al., Paris School of Economics and INRA

• 15.00-15.20:
  Discussion
• 15.20-15.45:
  Coffee break
• 15.45-16.00
  Taxing soda for public health: a multidimensional perspective to support decision-making (Canada)

Yann Le Bodo et al., University of Laval

• 16.00-16.15:
  Conditions influencing the adoption of a soda tax: analysis of the French case

Yann Le Bodo, University of Laval

Professor Fabrice Etilé, Paris School of Economics and INRA

• 16.15-16.45:
  Discussion
• 16.45-17.15:
  Conclusion