From Seattle to Philadelphia, advocacy campaigns have made great strides for public health and racial equity, but what were the elements that helped make their campaigns so successful? I’d like to share a few thoughts on this from my experience in working with organizations across the nation so that you too can find success should you consider taking on a sugary drink tax campaign.

Last March, before the pandemic hit, I was sitting in a hotel ballroom at a research conference chatting over breakfast with three colleagues I admire greatly. We were trying to sort out the evidence that could help advocates, public health officials and decision-makers choose among different policy options to reduce sugary drink consumption in their communities.

The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, a nonprofit research and public policy organization based at the University of Connecticut, has a calculator that estimates potential tax revenues from a sugary drink tax. The organization released its new sugary drink tax calculator in April. The update uses the latest data and models to estimate just how much money states can expect to raise should they pass a sugary drink tax on beverages like fruit, sports and energy drinks, sweetened coffee and tea, and soda.