30 November 2012 | last updated at 07:49AM
HEALTH: Impose soda tax to curb diabetes epidemic
DIABETES has become a condition of epidemic proportion worldwide, prompting the World Health Organisation and the International Diabetes Federation to declare November 14 as World Diabetes Day.
At the current population of 28 million and at the prevalence rate of 15 per cent, it is estimated that there are 4.2 million diabetics in Malaysia. In the first National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) carried out in 1986, the prevalence of diabetes was 6.3 per cent. The figure increased to 8.3 per cent in 1996 and the latest 2006 NHMS revealed that it had increased to 14.9 per cent.
The diabetes rate is expected to increase because of our diet and lifestyle. A can of soft drink has five to eight teaspoons of sugar. It is one of the reasons why Malaysians consume extremely high levels of sugar, averaging 26 teaspoons a day, making us the eighth largest consumers of sugar in the world.
Besides obesity and diabetes, soft drinks are linked to many other health problems. Sodium benzoate, a preservative used in soft drinks, is linked to asthma. Colas with high phosphoric acid are linked to tooth decay, osteoporosis, kidney stones and other kidney problems. Bisphenol-A used in the lining of soft drink cans can cause reproductive abnormalities.
In view of the detrimental implications of consuming soft drinks on health, many countries have imposed a tax on them.
The soda tax, as it is commonly called in the United States, is a tax or surcharge on soft drinks. The main purpose of this tax is to discourage high sugar consumption as soft drinks are a main contributor to obesity, which in turn, are linked to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and other health problems.
Norway has an excise tax on refined sugar products, including soft drinks, at 7.05 kroner (RM3.70) per kg. Hungary and Finland also have introduced taxes on soft drinks and other high-sugar foods.
The French government approved a tax on colas and other sweetened beverages early this year.
In Malaysia, we have a sugar subsidy which encourages sugar consumption. We must remove this subsidy and impose a soda tax to curb the diabetes epidemic.
Surveys have shown that for every two known diabetics, there is at least one more that is undiagnosed and untreated until irreversible complications set in. Worse still, Type 2 diabetes is no longer seen as a disease of middle or old age as children as young as 10 suffering from diabetes are not uncommon nowadays.
The diabetes prevalence rate in Malaysia has risen much faster than expected, almost doubling in magnitude over the last decade. Diabetes does not only take a toll on the country's resources, but also on the limbs (amputation), eyesight (blindness), kidney (failure), heart (failure), stroke and nerve (damage) of its sufferers.
Given the above situation, the Consumers Association of Penang urges the authorities to:
IMPOSE a tax on soft drinks;
REMOVE the subsidy on sugar;
Prohibit the sale of supersized soft drinks;
HAVE the traffic light system of food labels to indicate the unhealthy levels of sugar, salt and fats;
UNHEALTHY foods that contain high fats, sugar, salt and additives should be discouraged by the introduction of taxes on such foods;
EDUCATE Malaysians on the dangers of obesity and, diabetes; and,
ENCOURAGE exercises and provide the necessary amenities for exercises in all residential areas.
http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/health-impose-soda-tax-to-curb-diabetes-epidemic-1.178900
