Study: SNAP restrictions lead to 12% drop in soda purchases but raise stigma concerns

A federal effort aimed at discouraging Americans on food stamps from using the government nutritional aid to buy soda is having an impact, a new study shows (Source: “SNAP restrictions cut soda purchases but raise stigma concerns, study finds,” CBS News, Aug. 25). 
 
Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits cut their sugary drink purchases by more than 12% from January to June of this year after new state-level restrictions on what people can buy with food stamps took effect, according to a working paper released this week by economic and public health experts at the University of Chicago, MIT and Stanford University. 
 
The Trump administration has issued waivers to 23 states, eight of which implemented bans on using food stamps to buy unhealthy items like soda and candy. Ohio received federal approval earlier this year to ban the purchase of carbonated sugary drinks with SNAP benefits. The new restriction is set to go into effect in October.
 
Another 10 states are in the process of implementing the restrictions, while five had bans blocked by a federal judge in June. 
 
Based on economic modeling, the researchers estimate that a nationwide ban on SNAP sugary drink purchases would generate net benefits of $1.2 billion per year, with the bulk of gains coming from reduced healthcare costs from treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. 
 
Despite the ban’s potential health and economic benefits outlined in the research, such restrictions could have downsides for SNAP recipients, the study found. A survey the researchers fielded in July found that the restrictions heightened SNAP recipients' sense of stigmatization, with more reporting "feeling judged" while shopping with food stamps than before the state policies were introduced. 
 
"Stigma hurts health, so that may offset some of the calculated benefits of reduced soda intake," Kate Bauer, a nutrition science expert at the University of Michigan, told CBS News in an email.