To Sell a Soda Tax, Don’t Talk about Health? Exploring the Role of Personal Responsibility Beliefs in Americans’ Attitudes about Health Policies

We examine how public support for a penny-per-ounce soda tax depends on how the goals of the policy are framed. We find that appeals referring to benefits for public health are less effective, partly because they activate concerns about an encroaching ‘nanny-state’ and invite skepticism about the policy’s likely effectiveness.