Vietnamese people’s consumption of sugary drinks has increased tenfold in 20 years, leading to many chronic diseases. The World Health Organization proposed imposing a special consumption tax on this type of product.
Dr. Angela Pratt, Chief Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Vietnam, said the above at the conference. Harmful effects of sugary drinks on health and the role of tax policy in controlling consumptionApril 5.
In 2002, the average Vietnamese person consumed 6.04 liters of sugary drinks. In 2021, this number is 55.78 liters, an increase of 10 times, according to a WHO survey.
Sugar-sweetened beverages, as defined by WHO, are all beverages containing free sugars (added sugars), including carbonated or non-carbonated non-alcoholic soft drinks; fruit and vegetable juices, fruit and vegetable drinks in the form of drinks; liquid and powder concentrates, flavored waters, energy drinks and sports drinks; ready-made tea; ready-to-drink coffee and flavored milk drinks.
“Abuse of sugary drinks leads to health problems such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer,” said Angela Pratt, adding that increased or reducing free sugar consumption (regardless of the amount) was positively associated with weight change. In cities, more than one in four adolescents aged 15-19 are overweight or obese.
In fact, the rate of overweight and obesity is increasing rapidly, especially in young people, and is related to eating behavior. Associate Professor Truong Tuyet Mai, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, led research that drinking one can of soft drink/day for 1.5 years will increase the risk of overweight and obesity by 60%. Regularly drinking 1-2 cans of soft drinks/day (or more) has a 26% higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared to people who rarely drink.
Meanwhile, WHO recommends that children from 2 to 18 years old should limit sugar consumption to less than 25 g/day, and limit sugary drinks to no more than 235 ml/week. Children under 2 years old should not have any foods or drinks with added sugar.
“Timely and decisive action is needed to reverse these trends,” said Angela Pratt. Around the world, a common measure to reduce harm from sugary drinks is to increase their prices by imposing taxes. Price affects costs, helping to reduce consumption.
According to WHO calculations, if a tax increases the price of drinks by 10%, people will drink about 11% less. They switched to healthier drinks like mineral water.
Currently, more than 100 countries have applied special consumption taxes on these products.
In addition to taxes, WHO also recommends applying control measures such as nutritional labeling on the front of drinks, limiting advertising, limiting sugary drinks in schools, and educating children on healthy nutrition. and teenagers.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Lam, WHO representative in Vietnam, proposed that the Government consider applying a tax on sugary drinks at 20% of retail price. On the other hand, consider taxing sugar content or thresholds to encourage products to reduce sugar.
“Measures like these can help slow the rise in overweight and obesity rates, especially in children, and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases in future generations,” Lam said.
The Ministry of Finance is also developing a draft on special consumption tax on sugary drinks. In comments, the Ministry of Health proposed that all sugary drinks as defined by WHO should be subject to special consumption tax, the tax rate is based on the sugar content in 100 ml and a threshold should be set. Sugar content above this threshold is taxed, according to the principle that the more sugar, the higher the tax. On the contrary, if below the threshold, there is no tax. However, the Ministry of Health has not clearly stated what the “threshold”, which is the sugar content in 100 ml of drink, is.
For some nutritional products (milk, dairy products…) with low sugar content, the Ministry of Health proposed not to impose special consumption tax.