The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has challenged one of the key arguments being advanced in support of the proposed Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Bill, insisting that higher taxes on soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages will not significantly improve public health outcomes in Nigeria.
While acknowledging the growing burden of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, the economic policy advocacy group argued that the proposed tax targets the wrong problem and risks hurting businesses, consumers and jobs without addressing the real causes of lifestyle-related illnesses.
According to the organisation, the major drivers of diabetes and related health conditions in Nigeria are poor dietary habits, excessive consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods, physical inactivity, sedentary lifestyles, inadequate health awareness and genetic predisposition.
CPPE argued that imposing additional taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages would do little to address these underlying causes.
“Taxation does little to address these underlying factors. What it achieves is an immediate increase in production costs, higher consumer prices and additional pressure on investment and employment,” CPPE Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf, stated.
The organisation instead urged lawmakers to pursue measures that directly tackle the root causes of lifestyle-related diseases.
Such measures, it said, include nutrition education, public health awareness campaigns, promotion of exercise and physical activity, encouragement of healthier food choices, improved preventive healthcare systems, and urban planning that supports walking and cycling.
CPPE maintained that these interventions would be more sustainable and inclusive than imposing what it described as punitive taxes on a key manufacturing subsector.
According to Yusuf, public health objectives should not be pursued through policies that weaken production, discourage investment and threaten job creation.
