Potential health benefit of taxing sugared drinks is overstated, economist says
Reducing the energy content of sugar-sweetened drinks would be a more effective way to combat obesity than implementing a sugar tax, according to research commissioned by beverage industry association BevSA. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced in his February budget that the government planned to introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages from April 1 2017, to combat obesity and its associated health risks. The Treasury has proposed a tax of 2.29c/g of added sugar, which is roughly a 20% tax on the average price per litre of sugary drinks. The proposal has met stiff opposition from the beverage industry, which said earlier this year that the tax could lead to massive job losses. BevSA commissioned the research from the economics consultancy Econex, which concluded the proposed sugar tax posed risks to the economy that outweighed its potential health benefits. Econex MD Nicola Theron said the government had overstated the potential health benefits of taxing sugar-sweetened be...
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