WHO calls on nations to tax sugary drinks, reduce health impacts

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging governments all over the world to impose taxes on sugary drinks in an effort to limit its consumption and reduce its negative health impact.

According to a new WHO report titled “Fiscal policies for Diet and Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)”, fiscal policies that will increase the retail price of sugary drinks by at least 20% will result in proportional reductions in the consumption of the said products and will reduce obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.

Reduced consumption of sugary drinks means lower intake of “free sugars” and calories overall, improved nutrition and fewer people suffering from overweight, obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Free sugars refer to monosaccharides (such as glucose or fructose) and disaccharides (such as sucrose or table sugar) added to foods and drinks by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices, and fruit juice concentrates.

Dr. Douglas Bettcher, Director of WHO’s Department for the Prevention of NCDs, said that consumption of these free sugars, including products like sugary drinks, is a major factor in the increase in the number of people suffering from diabetes and obesity globally. “If governments tax products like sugary drinks, they can reduce suffering and save lives. They can also cut healthcare costs and increase revenues to invest in health services,” he added.

In 2014, more than 1 in 3 (39%) adults worldwide aged 18 years and older were overweight. Worldwide prevalence of obesity more than doubled between 1980 and 2014, with 11% of men and 15% of women (more than half a billion adults) being classified as obese.

In addition, an estimated 42 million children aged under 5 years were overweight or obese in 2015, an increase of about 11 million during the past 15 years. Almost half (48%) of these children lived in Asia and 25% in Africa.

The number of people living with diabetes has also been rising, from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. The disease was directly responsible for 1.5 million deaths in 2012 alone.

Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, pointed out that people don’t need in sugar in their diets in terms of nutritional value. “WHO recommends that if people do consume free sugars, they keep their intake below 10% of their total energy needs, and reduce it to less than 5% for additional health benefits. This is equivalent to less than a single serving (at least 250 ml) of commonly consumed sugary drinks per day,” he said.

The report also adds that fiscal policies should target foods and beverages for which healthier alternatives are available.  The report’s other findings include:

• Subsidies for fresh fruits and vegetables that reduce prices by 10–30% can increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
• Taxation of certain foods and drinks, particularly those high in saturated fats, trans fat, free sugars and/or salt appears promising, with existing evidence clearly showing that increases in the prices of such products reduces their consumption.
• Excise taxes, such as those used on tobacco products, that apply a set (specific) amount of tax on a given quantity or volume of the product, or particular ingredient, are likely to be more effective than sales or other taxes based on a percentage of the retail price.
• Public support for such tax increases could be increased if the revenue they generate is earmarked for efforts to improve health systems, encourage healthier diets and increase physical activity.

A number of countries have already taken fiscal measures to protect the health of the people from unhealthy products. Mexico has already implemented an excise tax on non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar while Hungary has imposed a tax on packaged products with high sugars, salt or caffeine levels.

Countries, such as the Philippines, South Africa and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have also announced intentions to implement taxes on sugary drinks.

As part of comprehensive policy measures to improve health, WHO calls on governments to use fiscal measures in its “Global Action Plan on the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013–2020”, the “Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal , Infant and Young Child Nutrition” and more recently by the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity.

At the Second International Conference on Nutrition in 2014, governments committed to reshape food systems, and this is the main goal of the recently declared UN Decade of Action of Nutrition 2016-2025.

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