Sweet and Sour: A Responsive Strategy to Strengthen Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Regulation in Australia.

This article proposes a responsive regulatory approach to reducing Australia's population consumption of sugar from sugar-sweetened beverages, which are a major source of free sugars in the diet and a notable contributor to Australia's burden of obesity-related disease. It focuses on reformulation and labelling initiatives; two of the core ways in which sugar-sweetened beverages are regulated for public health purposes in Australia (and globally). Pointing to poor industry participation, weak targets, and minimal enforcement mechanisms, this article argues that the current voluntary regulatory initiatives are significantly underperforming and are insufficient to achieve their stated public health objectives. In the absence of robust industry action, stronger regulation is required. Responsive regulation, which advocates for increasingly stringent sanctions and government control in response to industry failure, offers government a roadmap to strengthen existing voluntary initiatives in the interest of securing better population health outcomes.