ByJKNewsMedia
EFFORTS TO derail sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes in Nigeria, Cameroon, and South Africa were exposed in a report released on Wednesday, 16 October 2024.
In a document, titled “Sweetened Profits: The Industry’s Playbook to Fight Sweetened Beverage Taxes,” unveils a global strategy by the beverage industry, commonly known as Big Soda, to block effective SSB taxation and weaken public health policies.
“While the global community works to create healthier populations, Big Soda is using its influence to derail policies that could save millions of lives and reduce healthcare costs,” said Verónica Schoj, Vice President of Food and Nutrition at GHAI.
“Our report reveals the depth and breadth of the industry’s efforts to protect its profits at the expense of public health.”
The report was jointly released by civil society organizations such as Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in Nigeria, the Reconciliation and Development Association (RADA) in Cameroon, and the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) in South Africa.
These organizations revealed how the beverage industry manipulates policies to maintain profits at the expense of public health.
First launched by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) in September 2024, the report was reintroduced in Africa during the Global Week for Action on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) from 15 to 22 October 2024.
The report highlights the industry’s tactics to weaken governmental efforts aimed at adopting SSB taxes and other critical public health interventions across the continent.
The GHAI’s comprehensive analysis highlights how Big Soda uses a variety of strategies to increase the consumption of sugary drinks, which are a known driver of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other health problems.
The report also examines the negative impact of these practices on environmental sustainability.
This comes at a time when African nations are grappling with soaring rates of diet-related non-communicable diseases.
Civil society organizations like RADA have been pushing for a sweetened beverage tax and universal primary healthcare (UPP) tax in Cameroon.
CAPPA in Nigeria and HEALA in South Africa, meanwhile, continue to defend existing SSB taxes and call on their governments to strengthen these measures to meet public health goals.
Through in-depth monitoring and analysis, GHAI identified five key strategies that Big Soda uses to obstruct SSB taxes in more than 25 countries:
Economic Alarmism: Used in countries like Nigeria and Pakistan, where Big Soda claims SSB taxes would cause job losses and harm the economy.
Exploiting Social Concerns: Seen in Indonesia, where the industry uses corporate social responsibility campaigns to overshadow the health risks of their products.
Manipulating Tax Designs: An approach seen in Vietnam, where certain drinks were excluded from taxation, reducing the effectiveness of SSB taxes.
Mounting Legal Challenges: Examples from Colombia and Spain illustrate how legal threats are used to contest the legality of SSB taxes.
Discrediting Scientific Evidence: A tactic observed in places like Guam and China, where industry-funded research is used to question the effectiveness of SSB taxes.
In Nigeria, beverage companies continue to push false narratives and misleading health claims, said Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA.
He emphasized that the industry’s strategy is centered around profits, showing a lack of concern for the health of the people.
In Cameroon, RADA’s President and CEO, Ferdinant M. Sonyuy, highlighted the beverage industry’s involvement in sports sponsorship and hospital donations, which he described as a way to mask the harmful impacts of their products on public health.
Nzama Mbalati, CEO of HEALA in South Africa, noted how Big Soda’s tactics mirror those of the tobacco, alcohol, and gambling industries.
He warned that these tactics not only delay the implementation of public health policies but also come at a high cost to ordinary citizens.
In the GHAI report, policymakers were called upon by the civil society, and health advocates to anticipate and counter these tactics with strong, evidence-based SSB tax designs that prioritize public health over corporate profits.
