Sweetened Beverage: Advocates call for increased tax

Health advocates under the coalition of National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR), have called for an increase in tax imposed on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB) if the country is to achieve a real health impact.

The coalition also condemned attempts by beverage companies to halt the excise tax of N10 per litre imposed on all sweetened beverages.

In a statement issued on Thursday, NASR Spokesperson, Omei Ikwue, said the government must increase tax on SSB and invest the revenue in public health.

Ms Ikwue said the consumption of sugary drinks is known to be a risk factor for diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

She said as one approach to relieve the burden on Nigeria’s over-stretched health systems, the taxes can lead people to buy and consume fewer soft drinks.

She said this will further result in reduced diabetes incidence, increased economic productivity, and lower health care costs.

Ms Ikwue also noted that the taxes would be beneficial to the poor, who suffer the most from high financial burden of non-communicable diseases.

“The poor are most responsive to price changes and taxes will encourage them to buy less and prevent the future onset of costly, life-threatening chronic illness,” she said.

Implementing tax on SSBThe Nigerian government had in 2021 announced the implementation of excise tax of N10 per litre on sweetened beverages as part of efforts to prevent and discourage excessive consumption of sugar, which contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.

The announcement was trailed by mixed reactions. While some persons said the new policy will translate to an increase in prices of beverages for the common men and women on the streets, others including health experts said it is a great move to curb diabetes and other non-communicable diseases in the country.

Beverages manufacturing companies also lamented that the tax will collapse their industry.

Ms Ikwue, the coalition spokesperson, said it is unnecessary for manufacturing industry to put their financial gain over the health of Nigerians.

She said the industry has consistently generated profits yet makes claims that the tax will collapse their industry.

She said soft drink sales in Nigeria are the fourth highest in the world, with nearly 40 million litres sold each year.

This, she said amounts to billions in profit each year at the expense of public health.

Ms Ikwue argued that the industry pays a 50 per cent tax in Qatar, yet this high rate has not led to an industry collapse.

She opines that increasing taxes will benefit the nation’s health without causing economic losses to the industry.

SSBSSB is categorised as a liquid that contains natural or added sweeteners, including various forms of sugars such as brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose.

These may include soft drinks, juices, nectars, sweetened coffee, sweetened tea, energy drinks, speciality drinks, and flavoured dairy.

Nigeria is not the first country to impose an excise tax on SSB. Over 50 countries have already introduced SSB taxes to reduce the intake of such drinks and also encourage manufacturers to reduce sugar content.

Robust evidence has confirmed a drop in SSB consumption following the tax’s introduction in many jurisdictions including in the UK (2018), Mexico (2014), South Africa (2018), and Chile (2014).

Several studies have linked the intake of excess sugar and SSB with obesity, type 2 diabetes, overweight, cardiovascular diseases, and other non-communicable diseases.

An estimated 184,000 deaths and 8.5 million disability-adjusted life-years worldwide were attributed to SSB consumption in 2010, a report by the World Bank indicates.

Of the various diseases associated with sugar, obesity, and overweight take the lead because they are linked to other health complications such as diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, and stroke.

A World Bank report published in 2020 stated that obesity-related diseases are now among the top three killers across the globe.

In fact, obesity and overweight are considered a modern epidemic in most parts of the world. They are described as the gravest public health challenges facing the world today, including Nigeria.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, accounts for over 12 million persons estimated to be obese in 2020, with prevalence considerably higher in women.

Health experts, however, believe that increased sugar tax in Nigeria will not only tackle obesity but will help reduce deaths from other non-communicable diseases.