Economist: More than sweet drink tax needed to fix NCD problem

International economist Dr Justin Ram says while the Barbados Government’s recently increased tax on sweetened beverages is a step in the right direction, it will not be enough to remedy the country’s non-communicable diseases (NCDs) crisis.

He gave that advice as he also warned that the $750 million being spent annually on treating persons with NCDs is unsustainable.

From April 1, the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was doubled, moving from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, in an effort by the Mia Mottley administration to tackle the growing burden of NCDs and other diseases.

“We do need to consider if we need to raise that tax further, but I would have to say here that taxation alone will not get us to where we want to be,” Dr Ram said during Monday’s CBC Presents: A Conversation About Sugar in the Barbadian Society discussion by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados and the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition.

“It has to be a much more comprehensive approach which requires educating the population from a very early age, encouraging different lifestyle choices and, of course, making available other nutritious meals and things available to the average person.”

Dr Ram also pointed to the impact which the increased tax will have on low-income households where sugary drinks are consumed more.

He suggested that while it could benefit them because they may have to limit their consumption of SSBs, thus reducing their health bill, “there is a regressive component to this where it will actually impact low-income households more than high-income households”.

“And, so, we have to be mindful of that and try to implement policies as well that will mitigate that particular fallout; that distribution fallout has to be looked at,” Dr Ram said.

“Look, the tax is a step in the right direction, but I think that we also have to look at this in a comprehensive way. How can we support agriculture so that we are starting to produce the types of foods that we have a win-win situation where we are tackling NCDs but we are also producing local produce that is good for us?”

The economist said that was part of a wider discussion about what the State needs to put in place to ensure citizens achieve their ultimate potential in life.

“I think for Barbados and even for the wider Caribbean, we do need a sort of a vision of citizenship. What is that citizenship vision, what do we want for the individual to be able to achieve? And I think for that we need a renewal of our social contract – it means what is the responsibility of that individual and what is the responsibility of that state.” (AH)