Cancer Society Berates MAN over Opposition to Sugar Tax

The Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS) has carpeted the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) over the latter’s comments that the N10 per liter excise tax, which was recently enacted through the 2021 Finance Act, will “kill” the beverage sector.

The NCS said the manufacturers’ claim that the Sweetened Sugar Beverage (SSB) tax had resulted in economic losses to the industry was unfounded.

The former President of MAN, Mr. Mansur Ahmed, had claimed that the excise tax was “already having devastating effects” on consumers.

But, the NCS President/ Co-chair, National Action for Sugar Reduction Coalition (NASR), Dr. Adamu Alhassan Umar, in a statement, argued that there’s no evidence that the beverage tax has had any such effects on the industry.

Rather, he said, the N10 per liter tax was really not sufficient to reduce consumption and minimise the sugar-induced health challenges.

The NASR coalition also maintained that the current SSB tax rate must be raised in line with the good intentions of the federal government in order to achieve a significant impact on consumption patterns and, ultimately, a decline in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

Umar said sugar-sweetened beverages are loaded with refined sugars and contained “very little or no nutritional value. Consuming them raises the risk of chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke, and even cancers.

“These diseases are very expensive to treat, with humongous financial costs that weigh most heavily on low-income families.

“The SSB tax is designed to reduce consumption of these harmful products and ultimately prevent non¬communicable diseases. Increasing SSB taxes will improve the health impact of taxation.”

He said Nigeria is in need of more policies that protect public health and raise revenue for healthcare, adding that the SSB taxes can improve health by leading consumers to buy less and lowering the risk of non¬communicable diseases.