Sugar sweetened beverage taxes in Europe and the US
A step in the right direction but do we need to consider the impact in Asia, Africa and Latin America?
Sugar sweetened beverages and health
Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) are at the centre of attention in Europe and the US as a result of their impact on obesity, and the association between obesity, healthcare costs and lost productivity.
New markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America
As a result of the possibility of declining SSB markets in Europe and the US, SSB companies are looking for new markets and more customers in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This move could increase the global epidemic of chronic illness by increasing consumption of free sugar and increasing the rates of diabetes. This is especially worrying since almost 2/5 adults in Asia-Pacific are already overweight or obese and that the WHO estimates that 50% of the world’s adults with diabetes live in Asia.
Government responses
Governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America are not sitting back and are aware of the potential implications in terms of health care costs and lost productivity if obesity and diabetes levels continue to rise. Singapore already legally requires SSB producers to reduce sugar content of their products in order to reduce the chance that more than one million residents could have diabetes by 2050.
SSB taxation examples
Interest on SSBs has now been sparked in Asia, Africa and Latin America following the World Health Organisations (WHOs) recommendations that SSBs should be taxed in order to reduce population consumption of free sugars. In addition, there is evidence for initial effectiveness of SSB taxes from governments in the US and Europe.
Berkeley, California implemented a SSB tax in 2014. In the first year, sales of SSBs declined by 10% and $1.4 million was raised in revenue. The revenue was used to fund child nutrition and community health programs. Although Berkeley is an affluent place and the residents are relatively well educated which could affect the impact of the SSB tax, the type of approach used in Berkeley could be a good one to take for Asia, African and Latin American governments as long as the approach taken considers local conditions and ensures access to healthy drink alternatives.
Health outcomes
However, globally it is important to consider that although taxes have been adopted in a number of cities and countries, it is unclear whether such taxes positively affect health outcomes. Therefore long-term studies are needed to determine life-long impacts, how sensitive SSB consumption is to incremental increases in tax rates, whether such taxes increase socio-economic divisions in health and whether consumers simply shift consumption to non-taxed products or find ways to circumvent taxes.
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