By Linus Aleke
It is an Israeli public intellectual, historian, and professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mr. Yuval Noah Harari who painted a frightening picture of the dangers inherent in the uncontrolled consumption of sugar, when he posited thus:

“In 2012 about 56 million people died globally. AT least 620,000 of them died due to human violence (war killed 120,000 people, and crime killed another 500,000). In contrast, 800,000 committed suicide, and 1.5 million died of diabetes. Sugar is now more dangerous than gunpowder.”

Noah Harari, who is also the author of the famous book, “Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow,” spoke the mind of many especially, those in third world countries, where facilities to manage these self-induced ailments are a scarce commodity.

These sugar-related diseases are a respecter of nobody, male or female, young or old, tall or short, black or white, rich or poor, it is indeed more dangerous than gunpowder.

It is nonetheless, on the strength of this grim and hazardous reality that state and non-state actors are making effort to control excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened products without jeopardizing the business interest of those whose source of wealth is the manufacturing of carbonated drinks and other sugar-sweetened commodities.

To this end, the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR), a coalition advocating for policy measures to tackle the health risks of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), unveiled plans to further its advocacy toward earmarking revenue generated from the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB), tax.

The coalition, which includes the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Cancer Society, and eleven other non-governmental organisations, also outlined other key elements for the next phase of the advocacy campaign.

In a statement jointly signed by the consortium of non-state actors – “Diabetes Association of Nigeria; Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Nigeria Cancer Society, Breast Without Spot, Lafiya Wealth Initiative, TalkHealth9ja, Nigeria Health Watch, Project PINK BLUE, Sustainable Development Initiative, African Youth Initiative on Population, Health and Development (AfrYPoD), Bundies Care Initiative, and Nigerian Heart Foundation,” the Consortium Representative, Ms. Omei Bongos-Ikwue said the sugar-sweetened beverage tax, which was introduced in the Finance Act and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on 31 December 2021, has been fully implemented.

According to the statement, “The Nigerian Customs Service started the collection in July 2022. We praised the government for taking proactive measures toward implementing the tax. Nigeria’s SSB tax is currently 10-naira per litre.”

We were betrayed in NNPP, Kwankwaso isn’t truthful – Shekarau

An Advocacy Specialist, and Coalition Member, Ms. Shirley Ewang, said, the next phase of the advocacy is to sustain the tax and increase it to a level that will produce a price change impactful enough to discourage excessive SSB consumption.
She averred, that it is for this reason that the coalition is advocating for a 30-naira per litre tax.

“The next campaign phase will include measures to ensure the earmarking of the funds as a health policy tool, more specifically, by ensuring that funds go towards curbing non-communicable diseases,” Ewang further postulated.

A public Health Physician and Health Policy Advocate, representing TalkHealth9ja, Dr. Laz Eze, said, the increase in the tax is a win in itself because the idea behind the tax is to increase the price of the commodity, which will make consumers buy less and therefore reduce consumption.

He further highlighted the importance of understanding that there is currently no law that mandates earmarking funds as a health policy tool.

Also, Vice President, Nigerian Cancer Society, Comrade Elijah drew the attention of members towards the importance of developing a strategy for ensuring transparency in implementing the tax.

This, he said is in line with concerns about tax revenue getting lost in government coffers.

According to him, “There is a need to develop a mechanism to follow the money until there is the legal backing for the earmarking of the fund as a health policy tool”.

Bernard of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria advised the coalition to take the advocacy to the opposition to ensure they properly understand the importance of the tax to Nigeria and Nigerians.

“Winning them over will go a long way in ensuring the success of the new phase of the advocacy,” he further posited.

He noted that the above ideas are not just important but veritable tools for the success of the next phase of advocacy.

Supporting this change in advocacy, a Public Health expert said the government should channel the revenue from the SSB tax towards key preventive measures against obesity, diabetes, and other Non CD.

He said proper utilisation of the accrued revenue would go a long way in positively changing the alarming statistics of NCDs in the country.

He opined, “Considering the alarming statistics of these diseases all over the world, it has therefore become imperative for Government to Chanel the accrued revenue from these taxes into policy formulation for these group of diseases and preventive campaigns and other direct benefits to people affected by these diseases.”

A Nurse, Miss Chiamaka Okeke, said that there is a need for another legislation that will compel the relevant government agencies tasked with the responsibility of collecting this particular tax to remit it into a pull that will be ploughed back to fighting non-communicable diseases.

A group of scholars under the aegis of leading global economics, medical, and public health scholars said SSB often has no nutritional value.

Ohaneze berates APC administration, drums support for Labour Party Candidate

The scholars said hundreds of studies have shown how SSB add to the total caloric intake and impact adversely not only on child and adults but also on infants.

It said the sugars in sugary drinks alter the body’s metabolism, affecting insulin, cholesterol, and metabolites that cause high blood pressure and inflammation.

“These changes to the body increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, tooth decay, and liver disease,” the group concluded.

The Nigerian-born professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University College London, Ibrahim Abubakar, said the call for a tax on the sugar-sweetened beverage is not aimed at stifling the industry which will in turn increase unemployment, but only a strategy to minimize the intake of the sweetened beverage to encourage healthy and productive population.

Information from the website of “The Mayo Clinic,” revealed some of the serious complications, arising from sugar-related ailments.

The Mayo Clinic is an American non-profit academic medical centre that focused on integrated health care, education, and research.

“Long-term complications of diabetes develop gradually. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar, the higher the risk of complications. Eventually, diabetes complications may be disabling or even life-threatening. Pre-diabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes,” the data further revealed.

The possible complications, it said, include: “Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease. Diabetes majorly increases the risk of many heart problems. These can include coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke, and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis). If you have diabetes, you’re more likely to have heart disease or stroke.

Nerve damage (neuropathy). Too much sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish the nerves, especially in the legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning, or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward. Damage to the nerves related to digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, or constipation. For men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction.

“Kidney damage (nephropathy). The kidneys hold millions of tiny blood vessel clusters (glomeruli) that filter waste from the blood. Diabetes can damage this delicate filtering system. Eye damage (retinopathy). Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the eye (diabetic retinopathy). This could lead to blindness.

“Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of many foot complications. Skin and mouth conditions. Diabetes may leave you more prone to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections. Hearing impairment. Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.

Alzheimer’s disease. Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression, which the symptoms are common in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes”.

Also, the 2019 UNDP data reveals that “Each year 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 69 die from cancers, diabetes, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Over 85 percent of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.”

A non-communicable disease according to an online resource, “is a non-infectious health condition that cannot be spread from person to person. It also lasts for a long period. This is also known as a chronic disease. A combination of genetic, physiological, lifestyle and environmental factors can cause these diseases”.

It is on this note that it becomes imperative to conclude by calling on the government to listen to this call for policy change on the proceeds of the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and do the needful to safeguard the lives of citizens.