Victor EzejaCo-chair, National Action on Sugar Reduction, Comrade Bernard Enyia, has said there is poor regulation of the quantity of sugar added to beverage products in Nigeria, putting the health of consumers at risk.
Enyia, who spoke as a guest on Prime Business Africa‘s Health and Business Series hosted via X Space by Dr Marcel Mbamalu, publisher and Editor-in-chief, on Sunday, 4th August, said many of the manufacturers of sugar-sweetened beverages, do not include information about the quantity of sugar and other ingredients in each product on the label.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe emphasised that it is necessary to alert consumers about what they are consuming, given the health challenges associated with excess consumption of sugary drinks.
Speaking on the topic, “Sugar Tax Removal: Your Health or Your Wealth?,” Enyia, who is also a pharmacy technician, explained how excess sugar consumption poisons the body and leads to obesity, and also diabetes which is a risk factor to cardiovascular diseases, and renal problem among others.
He pointed out that the consumption of sugar itself is not bad but excess of it. He expressed concerns that much of sugar added in many sweeten beverages have no nutritional value and only exposes consumers to non-communicable diseases like diabetes.
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Diabetes, which is mostly caused by the consumption of excess sugar that the body can’t regulate, is said to be a silent killer as many live with it undiagnosed, especially in developing countries where many have low level of access to healthcare.
Enyia, who is also the second Vice President of National Diabetes Association said most sugary drinks do not have expiry date on their labels.
He therefore called on regulatory authorities such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other relevant agencies in the food and beverage sector to compel beverage manufacturers to do the needful both in adding the approved level of sugar and other sweeteners, and also including accurate information about the content on the label.
He recalled that in 2021 when they were campaigning for inclusion of sugar tax in the Finance Act, they had clamoured for inclusion of a clause that would compel beverage manufacturers to include actual quantity of sugar in their products, but it was not included in the law when it was finally passed.
He stated that they pushed for the implementation of the sugar tax, which started in 2022 when the Finance Act came into effect, on the understanding that it would lead to higher costs of sugary drinks thereby discouraging high consumption that has health implications. Also, according to him, funds realised from taxing beverage manufacturers, as done in developed countries, can be used to finance healthcare intervention projects such as enlightenment programmes for diabetes prevention and management.
He reiterated his opposition to the recent suspension of Sugar tax policy by the Nigerian government.
Prime Business Africa reports that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, last month disclosed that the Federal Government has suspended the collection of taxes on Sugar-sweetened Beverages (SSBs) from beverage manufacturers.
The Federal Government had after including the tax in the 2021 Finance Act, began the enforcement of N10 per litre of sugary drinks. However, Edun said it was suspended to give relief to manufacturers who are currently grappling with challenges in the macroeconomic environment in the country that is affecting production and economic growth in general.
Enyia said the World Health Organisation recommends 20 per cent tax on every sugary drink and many countries in the world are implementing it.
The Prime Business Africa programme which was held on X Space, also had another guest speaker, Dr Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE).
Dr Yusuf agreed with Enyia on the need to strengthen regulation of the production of beverage products.
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He, however, differed on the sugar tax policy that was suspended. He said Nigeria’s capital consumption of sugar, according to research data, has not gone beyond the threshold, and is therefore not yet at an alarming rate.
The former Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, insisted that the decision of the Federal Government to suspend the Sugar tax was a way of giving relief to beverage manufacturers who are already burdened by other taxes that are affecting the cost of production, at a time the economy is very challenging.
He said the Food and Beverage sector is one of the best sectors in Nigeria in terms of its contribution to the national GDP, hence the need to avoid fiscal policy measures that would end up adding more burden on manufacturers.
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He noted that due to harsh economic realities, consumption of products including sugar drinks has even dropped, especially in the last one year.
He added that prices have relatively gone higher such that not many can’t afford to consume them in excess anymore.
Yusuf stressed that there is a need for advocacy campaigns aimed at enlightening the people about healthy eating habits and not only implementing sugar tax.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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