The time is right for a sugar sweetened beverages tax

The time is right for a sugar sweetened beverages tax

FIZZ New Zealand (Fighting Sugar in Soft-drinks) Dr Gerhard Sundborn, Dr Simon Thornley

New Zealand doctors and researchers say new evidence about the effectiveness of a sugary drinks tax on reducing childhood obesity, and rising public support, mean the time is right to introduce such a tax in New Zealand.

Dr Gerhard Sundborn, an epidemiologist at the University of Auckland and a member of FIZZ (Fighting Sugar in Soft Drinks), says Mexico introduced a 10 percent tax on sugary drinks in 2014 and that a recent study found sugary drink consumption there has since fallen by 12 percent.

“Significantly, poorer households, where more sugary drinks are usually consumed, reduced their intake by 17 percent,” he said.

“Positively, there was a 4 percent increase in sales of untaxed drinks like bottled water, and national debate over the tax raised awareness about the adverse health effects associated with sugary drinks consumption. The policy has been hailed as a huge success.”

Dr Sundborn said the health related expenses associated with obesity, diabetes, and rotten teeth were over a billion dollars each year in New Zealand and that evidence shows sugary drink intake is directly related to these health issues.

“More than 5000 New Zealand children under seven undergo a general anaesthetic to get teeth extracted each year, thanks significantly to sugary drinks. The cost of putting these kids under is over $20 million each year – a cost shouldered by the tax payer.”

Dr Sundborn said a 20 percent tax on sugar sweetened beverages is urgently needed to complement other community based approaches to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity in New Zealand.

“Revenue gathered from this tax (estimated at $40 million per year) could be used to fund health initiatives that address child obesity prevention programmes,” he said.

Dr Sundborn said politicians are reluctant to look at a sugary drinks tax because they think it might be unpopular with voters. But, he said, recent polls indicate support is burgeoning as awareness grows about just how unhealthy sugary drinks are.

A June 2015 poll on sugary drinks jointly funded by the National Heart Foundation and the Auckland Cancer Society reported significantly stronger public support for a tax on sugary drinks, especially if revenue raised is used to fund childhood obesity programmes.

It reported 47.9 percent of the population favoured such a tax (up from 44.2 percent earlier this year actually Feb 2014). Just a third of the population (35.2 percent) opposed the tax (down from 49 percent.

“That’s quite a remarkable change, and it has occurred over little more than a year,” Dr Sundborn said.

“It’s also worth noting that a poll showed 69 percent of New Zealanders supported Jamie Oliver’s tax on sugary drinks in his restaurants. It’s like what happened with the New Zealand public and tobacco. The tide is changing and, five years from now, we’ll be wondering what all the fuss was about in terms of taxing sugary drinks.”

Dr Sundborn said New Zealand would become one of many countries to introduce a sugary drink tax. Others include the USA (34 States and District of Columbia); the Cook Islands; France; Tonga; Hungary; Samoa; Mexico; French Polynesia; Nauru; and Fiji.

ENDS

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