Independent Panel Advising WHO Silent on Sugar Taxes, Opinions Split over Levies

A new report from an independent panel advising the World Health Organization (WHO) does not endorse sugar taxes on soft drinks as a way of cutting obesity. Released last Friday in Geneva, the report entitled Time to Deliver does not specifically include a sugar tax among its recommendations to reduce non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – illness like cancer, heart conditions, breathing problems and obesity that are not caused by infections and are not passed on from person to person.

The Independent High Level Commission on Non-communicable Diseases is an independent panel that was set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) last year and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the policies of WHO. It was set up to advise on how to cut premature death from NCDs by a third by 2030.

In October 2016, WHO recommended that government should impose a 20 percent sugar tax, saying that introducing legislation to tax sugary drinks is an effective government policy in the fight against obesity and rolling outlaws around the world would curtail consumption and impact on diabetes rates.

At the time, WHO said that fiscal policies where at least a 20 percent increase is introduced to the retail price of sugary beverages would result in “proportional reductions in consumption.”

However, this latest report does not mention sugar tax because there were “conflicting views” on the issue.

“The Commissioners represented rich and diverse views and perspectives. There was broad agreement in most areas, but some views were conflicting and could not be resolved,” says the report.

“As such, some recommendations, such as reducing sugar consumption through effective taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages and the accountability of the private sector, could not be reflected in this report, despite broad support from many Commissioners.”

“Nevertheless, as the first phase of the Commission’s work, we are delighted to be able to present to the Director-General a set of recommendations that we believe will help accelerate action against NCDs.”

Sugar tax starts to bite in the UK

The UK’s sugar tax on soft drinks began in April following other countries that have already implemented similar levies such as Mexico and France. The UK’s sugar tax pushes up the price of sugar-sweetened soft drinks across Britain. It has two tiers; a lower rate of 18 pence per liter for beverages with a total sugar content between 5-8g per 100ml and a higher price of 24 pence per liter for drinks with total sugar more than 8g per 100ml.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May introduced the levy as part of the Childhood Obesity Strategy in a bid to change the consumption habits of children across the country as the latest statistics reveal Britain has a big problem with overweight and obese kids. Excessive sugar consumption, much of which comes from soft drinks, is being blamed for the crisis.

However, some observers claim that due to the aggressive reformulations that have already taken place within the soft drink sector, revenues collected as a result of the additional tax, may not be as high as first anticipated.

Agile businesses have been going through massive reformulation ahead of the UK’s sugar tax taking effect.