Sin taxes – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

July 24, 2026

Not just cigarettes and alcohol: why the ‘Oasis index’ and others like it offer real economic insights

Meg Elkins, RMIT University

For decades, economists have used everything from lipstick to underpants to work out how people really feel about spending money.

Marijuana sales − and tax revenues − have dropped in Colorado and Washington. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

April 15, 2024

Marijuana tax revenues fall short of projections in many states, including Colorado

Boyoung Seo, Indiana University

States have experimented with taxes based on price, weight and potency, but competition is heating up as more states legalize and the market matures.

A water bottle sits on the table in front of Chief and NDP candidate Rudy Turtle during a visit by NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh on Oct. 5, 2019 on the Grassy Narrows First Nation, where industrial mercury poisoning in its water system has seriously affected the health of the community. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

February 21, 2021

A sin tax on sugary drinks unfairly targets Indigenous communities instead of improving health

Myra J Tait, Athabasca University and Natalie Diane Riediger, University of Manitoba

A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages may be intended to improve health, but for Indigenous consumers, such a tax would be unethical, contravene tax law and undermine Indigenous rights.

Is meat the new tobacco? Some are suggesting it is, and urging a “sin tax” on beef, pork and other meats. (Shutterstock)

January 8, 2018

Meat is not the ‘new tobacco,’ and shouldn’t be taxed

Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University

Taxing a food product like meat, which has been entrenched in our culture for so long, is silly. We should let the market evolve and allow consumers to make their own choices.

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