3 ways of tackling obesity in SA that are more effective than a sugar tax
The Beverage Association of South Africa (BevSA) has reiterated its position that a 20% tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) is bad news for the industry’s growth prospects.
BevSA this week argued its position at a joint sitting in Parliament of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Portfolio Committee on Health, saying it will harm the industry and the country’s economic growth prospects, while delivering very limited health benefits.
BevSA also proposed a researched alternative to a tax, which it said offers South Africans a greater contribution to reducing obesity than a tax would.
The industry body also called for more in-depth local research before the tax was implemented, including a total dietary intake study to determine the drivers of South Africa’s rising obesity and a detailed socio-economic impact assessment on the effects of a tax.
It also questioned whether tax was the most effective way to tackle South Africa’s growing obesity problem.
While it acknowledged that obesity is a concern in South Africa, BevSA said there were more effective ways to address the challenge than a tax on soft drinks.
These include:
- Portion control;
- Reformulation; and
- Increasing the availability of low calorie alternatives and price promotions.
“All of these would be more effective than implementing a tax,” and would have the most immediate impact on calorific intake, BevSA said.
The industry also warned that tens of thousands of jobs could be on the line if the tax goes ahead and numerous capital investment projects in various sectors of the economy would be put on hold.
BevSA said while the tax was announced as a 20% tax levied on all beverages, determined per gram of sugar, the average weighted rate of the tax would be around 25% and in some categories, such as cordials, would be far higher – in the region of 50%.
It proposed regulating sugar reduction instead of introducing a sugar tax, with the beverage industry willing to commit to achieving double the calorie reduction envisaged by a tax, without adverse economic effects and job losses.
By using reformulation and promoting light and zero-sugar options, the industry said it could reduce calorie consumption by 14-18 kCalories per person, per day. This 14% reduction in daily calorie intake is two to five times what the proposed tax on sugar sweetened beverages would achieve.
This would result in a decrease of the prevalence of obesity by between 425,000 and 540,000 South Africans, it said.
The government has proposed an implementation date of 1 April 2017
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