Whose voices matter and what arguments are most persuasive in US policy making? In an era in which policy discourse has become politicized, we need to understand how citizens and officeholders understand health policy issues.
The first article in this issue, by Sarah E. Gollust, Colleen L. Barry, and Jeff Niederdeppe, uses a survey experiment to examine public opinion formation around an important, ideologically charged public health issue, sugary drink taxes. Evidence suggests that a tax on sugary drinks can curb the consumption of high-calorie beverages. However, divisive public opinion toward such taxes is a barrier to their adoption. Understanding what strategies work best—and among whom—may provide useful information for public health advocates. The results of the survey experiment show that a strong protax public health argument in support of a sugary tax is not effective at boosting support. Further, when pro- and antitax frames compete, the antitax frame wins....
