Sanaullah Guman
Obesity has emerged as a global health problem. According to WHO estimates, 1.6 billion adults worldwide are overweight and at least 400 million are obese. According to health experts, overweight and obesity are associated with heart and related diseases, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and is a major cause of some types of cancer. The situation in Pakistan is even worse. 41.3% of adults in Pakistanis are obese or overweight and 37% suffer from high blood pressure. Overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age increased from 28 percent to 38 percent from 2011 to 2018. In this period, the prevalence of obesity in children under 5 years of age has doubled, which is a major cause of many diseases besides type 2 diabetes. The report of International Diabetes Federation for 2021 alarming data shows that Pakistan is the third largest country of type 2 diabetes worldwide with more than 3.3 million cases and this number has increased from 19.2 million to 33.3 million in just two years. Pakistan is number 1 in the world with fastest increase in diabetes. According to WHO, non-communicable diseases (NCDS) caused more than 800,000 deaths in Pakistan in 2016, and more than 400,000 deaths were due to diabetes and its complications. 1100 lives are lost every day due to diabetes. If the costs of these diseases are estimated, the cost of obesity in 2015 was estimated at 428 billion Pakistani rupees and the cost of diabetes in 2021 was more than 2640 million US dollars.
We need to understand how sugary drinks are a sweet poison. According to health experts, one of the main causes of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and many types of cancer is excessive consumption of sugar, and the most consumption of sugar is in the form of sweet drinks, because one serving of 250 ml of sweet drinks contains 7 to 9 teaspoons of sugar. These sugary drinks provide the body with 150 calories but contain no nutrients. One do not feel full after consuming them like you feel after a solid meal. This increases the risk of weight gain as well as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other diseases. Additionally, high consumption of sugary drinks increases the risk of premature death. Household consumption of sugary drinks has increased dramatically in Pakistan over the past 15 years.
These eye-opening alarming facts and figures show that we are facing a very serious crisis and we have to go on a war footing to deal with these situations or else our public health system will collapse.
We have to see how the world has faced this threat and how we can save our country from this crisis situation by benefiting from the experiences of the world.
Among the ways that the world has reduced the consumption of these drinks to reduce diseases in its country, the first and most effective weapon among the few tested methods is the increase in taxes on them. Along with this, marketing restrictions, school food policy and front of pack labeling are proven strategies.
If we only talk about taxes, more than 50 countries in the world have increased taxes on sugary drinks and reduced their consumption, which not only reduced these diseases there, but also increased their revenue from additional taxes. Saudi Arabia was the first country in the Gulf to increase taxes on sugary drinks by 50% and energy drinks by 100% in 2017 and impose a 5% value-added tax on them in 2018. There was a drastic decrease in sales of Sodas to 41% and energy drinks to 58 % in 2018 as compared to 2016. The Philippines raised a tax on sugary drinks to generate $40 million in additional revenue that was spent on public health programs. Tax on these drinks in Pakistan is very less than other countries in the region. In India they are taxed at 40%. In Maldives, the health levy on a liter of drink is $2.18, which equates to Rs 335 in Pakistani rupees. Similarly, Qatar and Bahrain increased the tax on energy drinks by 100% and on soda by 50%, which significantly reduced their consumption, while Pakistan has only 13% Federal Excise Duty (FED) and 17% sales tax on carbonated water. There is no FED on juices at all. By taxing these harmful substances, Pakistan can significantly reduce the number of diseases caused by them and also get additional revenue per year which can be spent on public health programs. Thus, it is a win-win situation i.e. reduction in diseases and increase in government revenue
It is requested from the government that instead of taxing the necessities of life, tax should be increased on these harmful things and not compromise on the health of the people for the interests of the beverages industry.
