Regular consumption of sugary drinks heightens the risk of heart disease and premature death. Photo / 123RF
To tax sugar or not to tax sugar – the debate that’s raged on for years.
More than 100 countries worldwide have taxed sugary drinks but New Zealand hasn’t taken the plunge - yet.
University of Auckland Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health Boyd Swinburn told The Front Page if this Government is concerned about exploding hospital admissions and healthcare services creaking at the seams, it should care about a sugar tax.
“There are a lot of prevention policies which are not expensive like a sugary drinks tax is not an expensive policy,” the co-chairman of Health Coalition Aotearoa said.
In 2018, district health boards were pleading for a tax on sugary drinks. A briefing to then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern from the Ministry of Health’s chief science adviser Dr John Potter said such a levy would generate millions in revenue and save lives.
“Reduction of consumption via a tax will probably be greatest among the households with the lowest disposable income. In New Zealand, Māori and Pacific [people] will benefit strongly,” Potter, a professor at Massey University’s Centre for Public Health Research, wrote.
With more countries implementing a sugar tax comes more data.
In South Africa, a “health promotion levy” raised the price of sugary drinks by 11 per cent. In two years, researchers found a 29 per cent reduction in purchases of sugary drinks and the decrease was higher among low-income households.
Mexico’s 10 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, implemented in January 2014, resulted in a 5·5 per cent drop in sales by the end of that year.
Last year, a Technical University of Munich study found a tiered tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could save up to €16 billion ($28.6b) over 20 years.
The United Kingdom’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy came into force in 2018. The tax has resulted in more than 47,000 tonnes of sugar being removed from soft drinks.
The NZ Beverage Council claims that “in a real-world environment” consumers do not change their purchasing behaviour.
The industry group is instead advocating for a more holistic approach to tackling obesity, with a focus on nutritional education and encouraging increased physical activity.
It points to Berkeley in the US, a city that introduced taxation levels of up to 25 per cent. The group also cites research from Yale University, saying consumers there switched their purchasing behaviour from soft drinks to other calorie-dense, non-taxed products such as milkshakes, fruit juices and smoothies.
Another study published in the Lancet states the move resulted in a 21 per cent decrease in sales of sugary beverages in low-income neighbourhoods in the first four months.
Swinburn said if we looked anywhere in the world for data and inspiration, it would be Latin America - which has far better policies than other nations.
“For the last 10 years, most Latin American countries have implemented warning labels on the front of packages. They’ve implemented sugary drinks and junk food taxes. They’ve implemented restrictions on junk food in schools, advertising and marketing to children.”
This week, a joint study by the Universities of Auckland and Waikato found the majority of Auckland schools have junk food ads within half a kilometre of their gates. One school had as many as 95 unhealthy food and drink ads within its zone.
There’s no doubt a sugar tax affects low-socio economic areas more, Swinburn said.
“If you go to low-income neighbourhoods, you’ll find the place saturated with fast-food outlets as well as the vape shops and the cheap alcohol and pokies and everything else. These are predatory industries.
“These low-income neighbourhoods, they’ve been abandoned by the policymakers,” he said.
In 2022 National’s Dr Shane Reti, who is currently Health Minister, said he was open to exploring the idea.
The issue of whether to tax sugary drinks now lies with Associate Minister of Health Matt Doocey, as it relates to nutrition.
“A sugar tax is not a priority for the government as there are far more pressing issues in the health sector that need addressing at the moment,” Doocey said.
“I recognise the important role that healthy eating and good nutrition play in supporting the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders.
“On the issue of sugar taxes and/or levies, the Ministry of Health maintains a watching brief on the international evidence and will ensure its advice in this area is evidence-based.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about what a sugar tax is and how it might work in New Zealand.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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