Yazdi-Feyzabadi Vahid, Hajizadeh Mohammad, Homaie Rad Enayatollah, Reihanian Anita, Samadi Ali Hussein, Mahdaviroshan Marjan
Health Services Management Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
School of Health Administration, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.
J Health Popul Nutr. 2025 Jul 18;44(1):259. doi: 10.1186/s41043-025-00951-x.
Salt consumption control strategies can help to decrease hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases. Taxation mechanisms help to reduce the utilization of harmful commodities like salts. This study aims to analyze the impact of taxing salty foods on salt intake in Iran by examining the price elasticity of demand (PED) and cross-price elasticity of demand (XED) for salty foods.
This study used 38,328 household-level data from the 2019 Iranian Household Income and Expenditures Survey. This PED and XED for salty foods were calculated, and changes in household salt consumption due to salt taxation were estimated using a mathematical simulation method.
The findings revealed that the PEDs for noodles and pilaffs (- 4.89) and bread (- 2.03) are higher than that for other commodities. Noodles and salt (- 4.55) and breads and salt (- 1.61) exhibited the highest XED. Following 20% taxation, total salt intake is projected to increase by approximately 125 g per month.
Taxing mechanisms are ineffective in reducing the consumption of salty foods. Instead of reducing salt intake, households tend to shift to lower-quality, cheaper salty foods after the tax are implemented. However, these mechanisms can be used for increasing the government revenue.
控制盐摄入量的策略有助于降低高血压及相关心血管疾病的发生。税收机制有助于减少盐等有害商品的使用。本研究旨在通过研究咸味食品的需求价格弹性（PED）和需求交叉价格弹性（XED），分析对咸味食品征税对伊朗盐摄入量的影响。
本研究使用了2019年伊朗家庭收入与支出调查中的38328个家庭层面的数据。计算了咸味食品的PED和XED，并使用数学模拟方法估计了因盐税导致的家庭盐消费量变化。
研究结果显示，面条和抓饭（-4.89）以及面包（-2.03）的PED高于其他商品。面条与盐（-4.55）以及面包与盐（-1.61）的XED最高。在征收20%的税之后，预计每月盐的总摄入量将增加约125克。
税收机制在减少咸味食品消费方面效果不佳。征税实施后，家庭不是减少盐的摄入量，而是倾向于转向质量较低、价格便宜的咸味食品。然而，这些机制可用于增加政府收入。
