NASR Urges For Increase In Sugar Tax

Just nine months after President Muhammadu Buhari approved a N10 per litre tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs), the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) has stated that it is advocating for the tax to be raised to N30 per litre.

The coalition, which includes the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN), Nigeria Cancer Society (NCS), and 11 other non-governmental organisations, stated that the advocacy seeks to sustain the tax and increase it to a level that will produce a price change impactful enough to discourage excessive sugar and beverages consumption.

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The stakeholders in a communique issued at the end of a roundtable said that the next phase of their advocacy was to ensure that the tax is sustained as well as raised so people cannot easily afford the SSB.

The coalition also stated that it is intensifying its advocacy for policy measures to tackle the health risks of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).

Dr. Laz Eze, a public health physician and health policy advocate from TalkHealth9ja, said, “It is important to note that the increase in the tax is a win in itself because the idea behind the tax is to increase the price of the commodity, which will make consumers buy less and therefore reduce consumption.”