Taxes on sugar drinks can make us healthier. It’s time for Australia to introduce one

However, drinks cause weight gain Increase the risk Among various diseases including diabetes.

that Evidence shows Well -designed taxes can reduce sugar drinks, people choose a healthier option, and make the manufacturer reduce the sugar of the drink. And there is a signal that this tax didn’t take long, but it is already making people healthier.

Australia is a time to catch up with other areas of the world and introduce taxes on sugar drinks. To the new Grattan Institute report According to the show, the average Australian drink may have almost 700 grams of sugar every year.

Sugar drink hurts us

The percentage of adults in Australia, an obesity, from 10%from 1980 30%Diabetes is ours Grow up the fastest Chronic state. Health systems and economic costs are measured for billions of dollars every year. But the biggest cost is to be borne by the individual and their families in the form of disease, pain and early death.

However, drinks are a big part of the problem. The more we drink, the greater our risk. Weight gain,,, Type 2 diabetes developmentAnd pain Poor oral health.

This drink has no real nutrients, but there are a lot of sugar. Average Australians consume 1.3 Multiply the amount of sugar every day. However, drinks are more than a quarter of daily sugar intake than other major types of food.

You can be shocked by the sugar you drink. Many 375ml soft drink cans contain 8 to 12 teaspoons of sugar, and adults are almost daily recommendations. Many 600ml bottles have blown the entire daily sugar budget.

For poor Australians, the picture is more likely to get worse. diabetes and obesityAnd who consumes the most sweet drink.

Sugar beverage taxes work

Fortunately, there is a proven way to reduce the damage of sugar drinks.

more 100 countries We receive sugar beverage taxes that cover most of the world’s population. research This tax is higher in prices and reduces purchases.

Some taxes are specifically designed to encourage manufacturers to change recipes and cut sugar in drinks. There is no tax on drinks with a small amount of sugar, depending on this “hierarchy tax”, but taxes increase by two to three times as the amount of sugar rises. This provides a powerful incentive for adding less sugar to reduce or pay exposure to taxes.

This is the best result of sugar beverage tax. It will be healthier and the tax is maintained at least.

In countries with class taxes, manufacturers cut sugar with drinks. In the UK Dramatically decreased. In 2015, more than half (52%) of the UK product exceeded the tax threshold of 5 grams of sugar per 100 ml. Four years later, when the tax was enacted, the stake plunged to 15%. The highest sugar products (more than 8 grams per 100ml) decreased, down from 38%to 7%.

Today, the Australian beverage market looks similar to the UK before the tax is introduced.

Health benefits take longer to appear, but there are already promising signs that taxes are effective. Obesity has fallen among elementary school girls uk and Mexico.

Oral health has also been improved, and research shows that there are few children going to the hospital to remove teeth. ukReduction of dental corruption In Mexico and Philadelphia.

one Study in the United States In a city with sugar beverage taxes, gestational diabetes has been greatly reduced.

Tax Australia must introduce

Like successful taxes abroad, Australia should introduce sugar taxes that aim for drinks with the most sugar.

• Drinks with more than 8 grams of sugar per 100ml must be faced at $ 0.60 per three liters.
• 5-8 grams of drinks must be taxed at $ 0.40 per liter.
• Drinks with less than 5 grams of sugar should be exempt.

This means that the cost of a 250ml coke with almost 11 grams of sugar per 100 ml is required. But of course, consumers can avoid taxes by choosing a sugar -free drink or a bottle of water.

Grattan Institute Modeling According to this tier tax, Australians will show that they will drink about 275 million liters of sweet drinks or 110 Olympic swimming pools every year.

Tax is about health, but government budgets benefit. If you are introduced today, about $ 5 billion will be raised in the first year.

Interests such as the beverage industry strongly resisted the world’s sugar drinking taxes and issued a warning of dissatisfaction with the risk of poor people, sugar industries and beverage manufacturers.

But according to our new report, sugar beverage taxes have been introduced smoothly abroad, and no one of these concerns should not maintain Australia again.

We certainly cannot rely on industry pledge to voluntarily reduce sugar. They did weak And there is a misunderstanding I couldn’t insist.

In Australia, many policies and mediation are required to reclaim the flow of obesity and chronic diseases, but sugar beverage taxes must be part of the solution. It is a policy that works, easy to implement and most of the Australians Please apply.

The federal government shows that it is serious to solve the biggest health problems in Australia and stepping on this smaller step toward a healthier future.