Why Mexico Wants You to Quit Diet Coke

A bold tax experiment on whether governments can change taste itself

Mexico isn’t usually where global health policy experiments begin. But in the war on sugar, it has been the world’s laboratory.

Back in 2014, Mexico became the first country in the Americas to slap a national tax on soda. The move was so bold it sparked headlines across the globe and imitation. Today, 120 countries have some form of sugar-sweetened beverage tax.

And the data is crystal clear: soda taxes work. In 2014, when Mexico first introduced a one-peso-per-liter tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, consumption dropped immediately. On average, Mexicans drank 6% less soda that year. Among low-income households —those most vulnerable to diabetes and obesity— the drop in soda consumption was even sharper: up to 17%.

Which is why what Mexico did next is so puzzling. It just announced it will double the soda tax (great!) and extend it to diet sodas (what?!).

The international press didn’t even notice this major shift and instead gave space to soda lobbyists disguised as NGOs, repeating the false claim that the tax doesn’t work.

That’s why I’m writing this piece.

The real question isn’t whether taxing soda works, but whether Mexico is once again leading health policy by taxing diet sodas — or simply getting it wrong.