Stakeholders Canvass 20% Tax On Sugar-sweetened Beverages

Stakeholders have urged the federal government to increase taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) towards achieving a 20 percent increase in the final retail price of targeted sugary drinks as recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO) and global health experts.

They made the recommendation at a one-day Regional Stakeholders Forum on Sugar-sweetened Beverages (SSB) Tax in Enugu State organised by the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the National Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSB) Tax Coalition with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).

They lauded the decision of the Nigerian government to impose a N10 per litre Excise Tax on SSBs but noted   that   the tax still falls short of the at least 20% of the final retail price of SSB products as recommended by the WHO and global health experts.

The recommendations were made in a communiqué signed by representatives of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), National SSB Tax Coalition, New Life Community Care Initiative (NELCCI), Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), Sister With A Goal Initiative (SWAGI) and Kalice Children and Women Empowerment.

They observed that there is dearth of funding to address the health impacts of illnesses associated with SSB consumption and other unhealthy lifestyles associated with what Nigerians consume or are exposed to, adding that the aversion of consumers to the SSB Tax regime in Nigeria is largely driven by the misinformation and misrepresentation of SSB Taxes orchestrated by the soft drinks and beverages industry.

The stakeholders attributed the increasing consumption of SSBs in Nigeria primarily to the availability and affordability of SSBs, lack of affordable healthy alternatives, cultural and social norms that encourage and reinforce the consumption of carbonated drinks.

They also agreed that SSBs offer no nutritional value to consumers but rather constitute a huge public health and economic burden for the country.

State level engagements, according to them are largely missing in the discourse on SSB Tax and SSBs in general and noted that the required holistic labeling needed to help Nigerians make informed choices on what they consume is still largely missing.

The stakeholders, who were drawn from five states in the Southeast, said there is still a yawning gap in the level of behavioral change education required by Nigerians to wean themselves off SSBs issue than presently obtains.

On the way forward, they recommended adequate and sustained collaboration by government at state and federal levels spearheaded by the Ministry of Health to engender public awareness on the health risks associated with SSBs consumption and the benefits of the SSBs tax policy.