From Okwe Obi, Abuja
To reduce diabetes, National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) has insisted on the implementation of N10 per litre sweetened beverage tax in the Finance Act.
This is even as it condemned moves by beverage companies to stop N10 per litre tax from the Finance Act, arguing that sugar-sweetened beverages are harmful to health and consumption must be discouraged.
Spokesman of the group, Omei Bongos-Ikwue, in a statement, yesterday, commended the Federal Government for passing the tax, and maintained that a higher tax rate was needed to make a real health impact.
She contended that consumption of sugary drinks is a risk factor for diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancers.
Bongos-Ikwue further explained that the taxe would benefit the poor who suffer the most from the high financial cost 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.”
“The billboard displays also called out the beverage manufacturing industry for putting financial gain over health.
“The industry has consistently generated profits, yet make claims that the current 10 naira per litre tax will collapse their industry. Soft drink sales in Nigeria are the 4th highest in the world, with nearly 40 million litres sold each year.
“This amounts to billions in profit each year at the expense of public health. The coalition further argued that the industry pays a 50% tax in Qatar, yet this high rate has not led to an industry collapse.
“Increasing taxes will benefit the nation’s health without causing economic losses to the industry.
“Soft drinks are cheap; diabetes is not read one of the billboard displays. Taxing soft drinks and other sweetened beverages is a way to prevent avoidable deaths and raise sorely needed revenue to invest in healthcare,” she said.
