•Experts say sugar has no health value and WHO okays ‘tax attack’
If you thought the world would be a bland, unsavoury place without sugar, well brace yourself for a sugar-free world someday. If you are already a sweet-tooth who relished sweetened sodas and sugar-crusted cakes and donuts, well be ready to pay through your nose for the world is up against sugar.
Well, maybe not exactly the world but the World Health Organization (WHO) has just given a tacit nod to the campaign to impose heavy tax on soft drinks and other sugar products. Countries like Mexico and Poland have imposed taxes as high as 20 per cent on soft drinks, while South Africa will introduce sugar tax next year.
WHO, which had frowned at the rate of consumption of sugar is of the opinion that raising taxes on ‘free sugars’ could drastically reduce their consumption. Free sugars are those not found naturally in fruits and milk.
According to the global health body, people do not really need sugar intake as it nutritionally has no value. On the other hand, lower sugar intake would lower the incidences of diabetes, obesity and tooth decay.
WHO is probably led to its current convictions by the rising prevalence of diabetes in the world over the past few decades. There are about 1.5 million cases of diabetes in Nigeria alone and 422 million adult cases worldwide by 2014 statistics.
Diabetes is described as a chronic metabolic disease characterised by elevated levels of blood glucose which may over time lead to serious damage of the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidney and nerves.
Of all the ailments arising from the excessive intake of sugar, diabetes is the most dreaded because of the huge economic loss to the sufferers and their families as well as the health systems. According to WHO, the epidemic of diabetes has major health and economic impacts, especially in developing countries.
We think that this tax and other lawful measures to curb excessive sugar intake and other harmful modern lifestyles are in order. Such foods, drinks and other substances ingested by modern man which have no salutary nutritional values but on the other hand, are harmful to the body need be moderated.
Taxes on sugary foods and drinks are therefore a welcome policy that is indeed long overdue. We however urge that it requires a thorough and indeed studied process of public debate and broad consultations of all stakeholders.
All the options must be thrown up and considered. For instance, all the issues between reduction in container size, the reduction of volume, quantity of sugar and appropriate taxes necessary; consumer rights and individual freedom of choice require a period of robust debate and public engagement.
There are also the issue of regulation and monitoring by the appropriate agencies. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) must raise its game. It is common knowledge that many manufacturers are currently flouting the requisite regulations. A few years ago, NAFDAC in random checks on some manufacturers of consumer goods found that many products like soft drinks, toothpastes and bread produced in the country were actually not fit for human consumption.
What this suggests is that if all the agencies did their work efficiently, there probably would be no need for this tax. The various ministries of health also would need to increase tempo on their enlightenment programmes to educate the populace on harmful modern lifestyles.
In other words, we aver that tax is good but everyone must do a little more… it is about our lives after all.
