The National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR), a coalition of non-governmental organisations advocating for policy measures to curb health challenges in consuming sugar-sweetened beverages, has urged the Federal Government to increase tax on sugar beverages from N10 to N30.
A representative of the group, Mr. Edozie Chukwuma, was quoted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as making the call on Monday during a sit out in Abuja to discourage sugar consumption.
He said: “We are basically asking the government, Ministries of Finance and Health to protect the lives of Nigerians. Sugary drinks are very cheap and accessible, but the health implications of consuming these drinks are very deep.
“They actually cannot be taken on by the ordinary man, so our task is basically that soft drinks are taxed, currently there is a N10 per litre tax on sugary drinks and we are asking that this tax is sustained in the Finance Act of 2023.
“We are asking that it should be increased to N30 per litre. It is recommended by the World Health Organisation that above 20% tax on sugary drinks would see behavioural changes and reduction in the consumption.
“We are also saying that funds generated from taxing sugary drinks should be ploughed back into public health,” Chukwuma added.
According to him, the treatment of non-communicable diseases remains high and ordinary Nigerians cannot afford the medical bills and medications.
The NASR representative pointed out that if the proceeds of the taxation would be ploughed back into the health sector, the average Nigerian will be able to access proper medication on such deadly diseases
He further clarified: “There is more value in using the revenue generated from the SSB tax than letting people consume soft drinks that basically provide no nutritional value to them.
“We believe that they would be able to utilise these funds and also appropriate them properly, we believe that if these taxes are first earmarked for health it will help better lives.
Also speaking during the event, the Programme Coordinator, Project Pink Blue, Glory Okwu, said the coalition was pro-health and looked forward to a situation where Nigeria would be free from NCDs.
She said: “We know that increasing taxes on sugar based beverages is going to reduce consumption and also reduce non-communicable diseases in the long run.
“We are just seeking a way to better the health of Nigerians, especially the poor people who cannot afford to cushion the effect of living with NCDs in Nigeria.
“Ten per litre is just about 6.8% meanwhile WHO recommends a 20% increase. So, we have not even gotten to the point where we should be, where we can begin to see a lot of changes with this tax”, the civil advocate added.
It would be recalled the Federal Government had in 2021 introduced a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax, which is embedded in the Finance Act 2021 and imposes a N10 tax on a litre of all non-alcoholic and sugar-sweetened carbonated drinks.
