The federal government says it is committed to attain the global best practice of nearly 20 per cent taxation on the final retail price on all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).

Chukwuma Anyaike, a director at the federal health ministry disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Pro-Health, Tax Policy Campaign on Sugar Sweetened Beverages.

According to Mr Ayaike, non-communicable diseases continue to remain the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa and the World Health Organisation Assembly has endorsed a package of 16 evidence based interventions focusing on addressing non-communicable diseases risk factors.

These he said included tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet.

“One of the interventions is the use of taxes on products that have a negative public health impact with the explicit goal of reducing consumption of such products. These taxes are considered to have the potential to reduce NCDs while advancing health equity,” explained Mr Ayaike.

The official noted that to achieve that, “this campaign aligns with other government efforts in improving the public health of the Nigerian populace to meet up with the global priority of significantly reducing NCDs,” pointing out that excess consumption of SSBs “has become a significant public health concern and a threat to the future generation as its consumption is high among children and adolescents.”

Mr Ayaike explained further that numerous studies had linked high consumption of SSB to an increased risk of tooth decay and cavities, weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and other NCDs.

WHO advises that limiting the intake of sugar-containing drinks can help individuals maintain healthy weight and healthy dietary patterns.

“Nigeria is a low and middle-income country where more than 70 per cent of the populace pay for health expenditure out of pocket and a part of the countries with 77 per cent of the global 41 million deaths caused by NCDs. This has been established by WHO and duly captured in Nigeria’s road map to eliminating the scourge of NCDs as contained in the multisectoral action plan (NMSAP) for ending NCDs,” said Mr Ayaike.

Edozie Chukwuma, a member of the National Action on Sugar Reduction, an NGO, organisers of the campaign  said the campaign was to call on the government to increase the tax of SSBs.

“Currently the Nigerian government collects N10 tax per litre which was instituted via the finance act  however,  WHO recommends at least 20 per cent tax. To ensure that this taxation is passed to the consumers to discourage consumption and forcing people to alternative which is basically water and fruits,” stated Mr Chukwuma.

He added, “Currently there is a burden of non-communicable diseases in the country and it needs to be addressed , it’s at an all-time high with over 75 per cent of Nigerians paying from their pockets for the treatment. Consumption of sugary drinks  is affordable and accessible to the middle and low income earners, you can not compare the cost of consumption over the cost of treatment.”

Mr Chukwuma therefore urged the government to protect Nigerians by increasing the tax on each litre of SSBs and channel revenue from sugary drinks into funding of healthcare.

(NAN)