Sugar tax needs proper debate

When think-tank the Grattan Institute went public with its call for a sugar tax in Australia in 2016, Barnaby Joyce called the plan “bonkers mad”. The inflammatory nature of the deputy prime minister’s words was inappropriate for the important debate surrounding sugar and public health issues such as diabetes and obesity.

Australians consume on average 14 teaspoons of sugar a day, more than double the World Health Organisation’s recommended levels for a healthy diet. Almost all of Australia’s major health and medical organisations have linked high sugar consumption to increasing rates of obesity and diabetes. More than one in every four adult Australians is obese, and one in three is overweight.

According to research from the Grattan Institute, obesity costs taxpayers about $5.3bn a year in lost income tax, increased medical care and welfare. According to federal government data, the prevalence of diabetes has more than trebled in the adult population in the past 25 years.

It is becoming increasingly evident that high sugar consumption is having a social, medical and economic effect on the country, particularly for our children. Almost half of all children aged between two and 16 consume a juice or soft drink sweetened with sugar every day. Apart from associated dental problems, our childhood obesity rates are among the highest in the world.

Given the weight of evidence, a tax on sugar should be thoroughly investigated and sensibly debated, as should greater curbs on junk food advertising that targets children. We have seen how taxes on tobacco have reduced health-related issues associated with smoking. We need due consideration of whether a tax on sugar could have similar success in other areas of public health.