They also encourage businesses to reduce sugar … LS9 8HH, Telephone 0113 243 0161 The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is a firm advocate against the taxation of sugar in the country, and released a report supporting its argument titled ‘The Bitter Truth: Why don’t sugar taxes work?’. The logic behind a sin tax is twofold: 1. Most people in the UK are now obese or overweight. PROS: We know that there is an obesity problem in the UK and that sugar (in addition to other foods stuff) is therefore bad for our health. Savings on healthcare • Estimates suggest that, over 10 years, a tax on sugary drinks of 1 cent per ounce in the United States of BOD 4. Australia is lagging behind the 28 jurisdictions with such a tax already in place. The potential to improve health is greatest when combined with incentives for choosing healthier foods and this has not always occurred within government regulation frameworks. By Keri Heath | Nov 11 2016. 2013;14(3):213–21. Bigger picture view – we know that some people drink A LOT of fizzy drinks – what support will they be given when they start showing signs of sugar withdrawal (if they stopped drinking fizzy drinks)? Sugar sweetened beverages are a common target for food taxes because they provide energy with little or no associated nutrients[vi]. Public health advocates say an SSBT in Australia and New Zealand could help reduce consumption of SSBs and thereby reduce obesity and other associated diseases. The WHO has identified food taxes as a tool to improve population diets[iv]. Australian Bureau of Statistics 4364.0.55.007. 2010;100(2):216-222. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.151415. The tax’s poor design means it fails to penalise the drinks with the higher sugar content. Commonly known as the ‘Sugar Tax’, 50 percent of soft drinks manufacturers have reduced the sugar content of their drinks to avoid paying the … Cat. BMJ 2015;351:h4047. The … Keep up to date with the latest news and publications from Sugar Nutrition Resource Centre. Social cost. We can’t resolve an obesity problem by just cutting out fizzy drinks! WHO Regional Office for Europe. Incentivizing Wellness in the Workplace: Sticks (Not Carrots) Send Stigmatizing Signals. If someone really wants a fizzy drink, they will pay for it, regardless of the cost. Of course modelling is always based on assumptions and these may not play out in the reality of implementation. A SSBT is what is known as a ‘regressive tax’ because it disproportionally affects poor people. This could be seen as a tax on obesity – is this discrimination? Leeds Health economics. to reduce sugar consumption (8). P4P4P: an agenda for research on pay-for-performance for patients. Pros of a Fat Tax. Available at URL, AIHW 2016. • Evidence shows that a tax on sugary drinks that rises prices by 20% can lead to a reduction in consumption of around 20%, thus preventing obesity and diabetes (9). Published 2 February 2012. Back in 2014 doctors suggested that there should be a soft drinks tax. But it … An analysis of the contribution of poor diet to the burden of disease in Australia (2011) by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare[iii] calculated the percent of DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years) attributable to a range of dietary components. Even taking into account declines in consumption, they estimate the revenue collected from the tax would be more than A$400m annually which could be “put towards health promotion activities, or used to subsidise healthy foods”. Consumption of sugar imposes costs on individuals (lower life expectancy) and the rest of society (higher health care costs + lower productivity). Other consumables that are bad for our health are already taxed i.e. A sugar tax is a tax on sugary drinks, also called a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Tax (SSBT). 2009 Jan-Feb; 28(1):206-14. Website design by, Sources and types of carbohydrates and sugar, Sugar processing: growing, milling, refining, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4364.0.55.007main+features7102011-12, http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129555173, http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/121/11/1356.short, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0151460#pone.0151460.ref004, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.3070/abstract?userIsAuthenticated=false&deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19298422, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23174017, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19124872/, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~prestos/Downloads/DC/pdfs/Downs_Sept22_Downsetal2009.pdf, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26154289?report=abstract. Use the funds raised by the tax to fund public health programs, from education initiatives to research to health care. A sugar tax would be an effective part of a joined-up approach to reducing sugar consumption, which should also include: Nutrition education for children in schools Clearer sugar contents labelling on food and drink packaging to allow consumers to … Reduce use of the unhealthy items by increasing the associated cost, and 2. A diet high in sweetened beverages ranked number eight at 0.3 percent. “[Sugar taxes] are remarkably ineffective as a way of getting people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks, let alone reducing their … Volpp KG, Pauly MV, Loewenstein G, Bangsberg D. Health Aff (Millwood). What WHO is asking for – a tax on sugary drinks – is something known as a sin tax. Available at URL, [xvi] Ni Mhurchu C, Eyles H, Genc M, Scarborough P, Rayner M, Mizdrak A, Nnoaham K, Blakely T. Effects of Health-Related Food Taxes and Subsidies on Mortality from Diet-Related Disease in New Zealand: An Econometric-Epidemiologic Modelling Study. Marshall Street Assessing the potential effectiveness of food and beverage taxes and subsidies for improving public health: a systematic review of prices, demand and body weight outcomes. Now, celebrity baker Nadiya has said she's not sure who it's helping. Bridget Turner, our Director of Policy, Campaigns and Improvement, said: “Evidence shows that this levy has the potential to prevent obesity in up to 140,000 adults and children each year and, in turn, prevent nearly 19,000 cases of Type 2 diabetes. Crammond B, Van C, Allender S, Peeters A, Lawrence M, Sacks G, et al. Australian Health Survey: Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12. Share this article: Share Tweet Share Share Share Email Share. The tax could mean that people turn to more artificially sweetened drinks such as “diet” versions of the same brand – goodbye sugar, hello aspartamine & saccharin! Don’t think that just because Jamie Oliver supports it, that having a sugar tax is a new concept. A sugar tax is a good start for tackling the obesity problem. American Journal of Public Health. 2010;121(11):1356–64. The most immediately obvious benefit, and that which most would wager, is the primary cause of the tax is the potential improvement of the nation’s health. The Impact of Food Prices on Consumption: A Systematic Review of Research on the Price Elasticity of Demand for Food. no. They estimate this could to save 1,600 lives, prevent 4,400 heart attacks and 1,100 strokes and save the health-care system up to A$609 million. CSIRO, Australia. The pros and cons of a sugar tax. The Parade Building The more tax on the rich comes by what the cost is for their purchase. Sirpa Sarlio-Lähteenkorva says that a specific tax on sugar would reduce consumption, but Jack Winkler thinks that such taxes are politically unpalatable and would have to be enormous to have any effect Taxes are traditionally regarded as a source of revenue, but they can also be used as tools in health policy. Denmark has dismantled their ‘fat tax’ due to a lack of health improvement and unintended adverse consequences such as increased food costs, high administrative burden and tax evasion. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2015. Consuming too many SSBs is a behavioural problem and a behavioural approach would suggest rewarding healthier choices because reward is more effective than punishment [xiii]: when it comes to health decisions, the ‘carrot’ is better than the ‘stick’ [xiv]. Marshall Court (Head Office) In conjunction with clear food labelling this would go some way to educate consumers about their diet and daily intake of nutrients. 2014;23(9):1159–84. It shows that the sugar tax on soft drinks introduced in 2017 has proved unexpectedly successful and has led to a 28.8% fall in the amount of sugar … Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy. 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