Sugary drink: supporters call for an increase in the tax

Health advocates from the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) coalition have called for an increase in the tax on sugary drinks if the country is to achieve a real health impact.

The coalition also condemned attempts by beverage companies to end the N10 per liter excise tax imposed on all sugar-sweetened beverages.

In a statement on Thursday, NASR spokesman Omei Ikwue said the government should increase the tax on sugary drinks and invest the revenue in public health.

Ms Ikwue said drinking sugary drinks is known to be a risk factor for diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

She said that as an approach to ease the burden of Nigeria's overburdened health systems, taxes can lead people to buy and consume fewer soft drinks.

She said this would result in a reduced incidence of diabetes, increased economic productivity and lower health care costs.

Ms. Ikwue also noted that taxes would benefit the poor, who bear the greatest financial burden of non-communicable diseases.

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

The Nigerian government had announced in 2021 the introduction of an excise tax of 10 naira per liter on sugary drinks as part of efforts to prevent and discourage excessive consumption of sugar, which contributes to obesity, diabetes and other diseases.

The announcement was followed by mixed reactions. While some people said the new policy would mean higher drink prices for ordinary men and women on the street, others, including health experts, said it was a big step forward to fight diabetes and other non-communicable diseases in the country.< /p>

Beverage companies have also lamented that the tax is crashing their industry.

Ms Ikwue, spokesperson for the coalition, said there is no need for the manufacturing industry to put its financial gain ahead of the health of Nigerians.

She said the industry has consistently generated profits, but says the tax will crash her industry.

She said that soft drink sales in Nigeria were the fourth highest in the world, with almost 40 million liters sold each year.

This, she says, represents billions in benefits each year at the expense of public health.

Ms. Ikwue argued that the industry pays a 50% tax in Qatar, but that high rate has not led to a collapse of the industry.

She is of the view that raising taxes will benefit the health of the nation without causing economic loss to industry.

SSB is classified 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, syrup high fructose corn, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar and sucrose.

These can be soft drinks, fruit juices, nectars, sweetened coffee, sweetened tea, energy drinks, specialty drinks and flavored dairy products.

Nigeria is not the first country to impose an excise tax on SSB. More than 50 countries have already introduced taxes on sugary drinks to reduce the consumption of these drinks and also encourage manufacturers to reduce their sugar content.

Strong evidence has confirmed a decline in the consumption of sugary drinks following the introduction of the tax in many jurisdictions, including the UK (2018), Mexico (2014), South Africa (2018 ) and Chile (2014).

Several studies have linked excessive consumption of sugar and sugary drinks to obesity, type 2 diabetes, overweight, cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases.

An estimated 184,000 deaths and 8.5 million disability-adjusted life years worldwide were attributed to the consumption of sugary drinks in 2010, according to a report by the