The Impact of the Saccharin Warning Label on Sales of Diet Soft Drinks in Supermarkets

Abstract

Responding to public protest against an FDA-proposed ban on saccharin, Congress in 1977 passed legislation placing a temporary moratorium on the ban and framing the language of a warning label to be required on saccharin-containing products. Appearance of the warning label on diet soft drinks was associated with a short-term reduction in the rate of growth of sales in grocery stores. There was early response to the warning in neighborhoods with a high proportion of college-educated household heads, delayed response in neighborhoods with high concentrations of children, and no change in stores serving neighborhoods with high concentrations of the elderly and households heads with less than high school education. Public policy implications are discussed.