Sir, – In light of recent moves by the food and drinks industry to block the introduction of a sugar tax in the next budget, it is important to reiterate the crucial need to take steps to tackle obesity in Ireland, our No 1 public health problem.
One in four children in Ireland is obese and according to the World Health Organisation, we are set to become Europe’s fattest nation by 2030. Ireland’s obesity epidemic is driving a significant part of the burden on the health services. It is contributing to more cases of cancer and heart disease and will increasingly put more and more pressure on the already struggling health services.
The evidence is there. A tax on sugar sweetened drinks, introduced in Mexico in 2014 has shown very encouraging results, reducing consumption by up to 12 per cent. A 2016 review of systematic reviews on the impact of sugars and sugar taxation on body weight control found weight reductions were similar across all socio-economic groups. It found the tax to be only mildly regressive.
Irish research has shown that where taxes are introduced in conjunction with subsidies on healthy food options they are not regressive and will have the most benefits for lower socio-economic groups. This is important because of the socio-economic gradient to obesity. Lower socio-economic groups are the most severely affected by the obesity epidemic. To illustrate this, it was reported in 2014 that the rate of overweight and obesity in children was stabilising somewhat – but only in the more socially advantaged schools.
A tax on sugar-sweetened drinks alone will not impact obesity levels but as one of a number of measures, it is a very important step. Introducing a levy in Ireland that would result in a price increase of 20 cent on 330ml, should see a marked drop in consumption. It could yield up to €243.4 million (VAT inclusive) that could then be ring-fenced to benefit other areas of child health by introducing programmes in primary and secondary schools to teach children and adolescents the skills required to prepare and eat healthy food. This includes a tax on soft drinks and diet drinks.
The UK is the latest country to announce the introduction of a 20 per cent sugar tax by 2018. We urge our Government to follow suit and introduce a health levy on sugar-sweetened drinks, as promised in the Programme for Government. – Yours, etc,
Prof DONAL O’SHEA
Chairman,
Policy Group on Obesity,
Royal College of Physicians
of Ireland, Dublin.