Argentina is one of the world's highest consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages (predominantly sodas). This project will address the problem, and the rapidly increasing rates of obesity and diabetes among youth and adults, through evidence that supports policy development. Improved policies, better health Argentina has begun to implement important policies to reduce the country's non-communicable disease burden, including policies for tobacco control and reduced salt and trans-fatty acids. There is now a growing regional public health interest in regulating sugar-sweetened beverages to prevent disease. As awareness of the health impacts of soda consumption grows, government and civil society stakeholders are interested in policy options to decrease consumption. Taxing soda consumption This project aims to generate evidence to inform this policy development. It will: -describe the market process from production to distribution and consumption -explore the regulatory and legal framework -examine feasibility challenges and the potential impact of tax increases on soda consumption -explore mechanisms that will enable these taxes to increase Researchers will assess the magnitude of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with consuming sugar-sweetened drinks. They will model the health and health-cost benefits of reduced soda intake associated with price increases over the next decade. The predicted global increase of non-communicable diseases will disproportionally affect women and poor people, so the project's methods will analyze policy impacts by gender and socio-economic status. The research team is composed of public health experts, physicians, lawyers, sociologists, and economists. It also includes high-level staff from the Ministry of Health. The project team will share the results through scientific papers in open access journals, policy briefs, and media releases.