Treasury from Public Health Community of SA endorse sugar sweetened beverage tax in 2017

admin April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 3,279 Comments

Open letter to Treasury from Public Health Community of SA endorsing decision to implement sugar-sweetened beverage tax in 2017:

“We, representatives of the Public Health Community of South Africa, strongly endorse the decision to implement a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in 2017.

This important first step has been identified as a cost-effective intervention in both the National Department of Health’s Strategic plan for Non–Communicable Diseases and their National Strategic Plan for Obesity.

The implementation of the tax will need to be followed rapidly by a series of other measures to address the staggering obesity epidemic in this country that now rivals HIV and TB. This must include, among others, a population-wide health promotion campaign so that the public appreciates this tax as an enabling process to support individual and population-level health.

The decision to include this tax in the budget is the start of a far-sighted approach that will have a significant impact. Researchers at the Wits School of Public Health have shown that a 20% tax could reduce the number of obese people by almost a quarter of a million over the next 3-5 years. The tax would also prevent dental morbidity, which causes high levels of absenteeism at primary and high school level, particularly amongst those from disadvantaged backgrounds. A higher tax rate would have an even more significant impact on obesity, oral disease, diabetes and other related diseases.

Without urgent preventive measures, we will face a dire situation of growing deaths and disabilities in the next few years. This will disproportionately impact women, children and the poor and overwhelm our health systems.

We commend Treasury for including the tax on the agenda and we urge them to stand firm as they meet with the beverage industry on Thursday, 21 April 2016.”

Representatives:

Public Health Association of South Africa
World Federation of Public Health Associations
South African Paediatric Association
Rural Health Advocacy Project
SECTION27
South African Food Sovereignty Campaign
PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand
Prof Laetitia Rispel, HOD, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand
Dr. Veerasamy Yengopal, HOD, Community Dentistry, University of the Witwatersrand and Acting Chair, South African Association of Community Dentistry
Dr. Mpho Molete, Specialist in Community Dentistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Chair of PHASA Special interest Group (Dental Public Health)
Dr. Sundeep Ruder, Endocrinologist, Associate Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand, Honorary Consultant Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital
Dr. Saloshni Naidoo, HOD of the Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Prof Mohamed Jeebhay, HOD and Director, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town
Professor Leslie London, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town
Prof Lilian Dudley, Department of Community Health, University of Stellenbosch
Prof Usuf Chikte, Executive Head, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch
Professors Helen Schneider, David Sanders and Thandi Puoane, School of Public Health, University Western Cape
Prof Attie Louw, Head, Community Dentistry, University of the Western Cape
Prof Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, Head of School, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
Dr. Ahmed Bhayat, Head, Community Dentistry, University of Pretoria
Aadielah Makerer, Health Promotion and Development Foundation Network
Dr. Yussuf Saloojee, Executive Director, National Council Against Smoking
Dr. Irwin Friedman, Public Health Physician, Sustainable Enterprise for Enabling Development (SEED) Trust
Prof Sudeshni Naidoo, Chair, Alliance for a Caries Free Future (ACFF), South African Chapter
Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (Pty) Ltd (CDE – Your Partner in Diabetes)
Distiller, Kramer & Associates Diabetes and Endocrine Practice, Houghton, Johannesburg”