Daily Maverick
Dailymaverick logo

Opinionistas

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are not that of Daily Maverick.....

Urgent need to support the Health Promotion Levy and prioritise health over profits

Bilal Mazayabo
By Bilal Mazayabo
18 Feb 2025
Facebook
0
The Health Promotion Levy has proven to be a life-saving intervention by curbing the excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, discouraging their overconsumption, and promoting better public health. Unfortunately, some groups, like SA Canegrowers, are attempting to distract from the life-saving benefits of the levy by questioning its efficacy. However, the success of this tax is already proven — not just in South Africa, but globally.

The health of South Africans is at stake. With more than 4.2 million South Africans living with diabetes — now the second-leading cause of death in the country — it’s clear that the overconsumption of sugary drinks is a national crisis. 

The Health Promotion Levy has proven to be a life-saving intervention by curbing the excessive intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, discouraging their overconsumption, and promoting better public health. Consuming sugary drinks regularly is linked to weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay, and even gout. What makes this even more concerning is that, according to the American Heart Association, the body doesn’t require any added sugar to function healthily — making the overconsumption of sugary drinks all the more dangerous.

Unfortunately, some groups, like SA Canegrowers, are attempting to distract from the life-saving benefits of the Health Promotion Levy by questioning its efficacy. However, the success of this tax is already proven — not just in South Africa, but globally. For instance, the sugary drinks tax in England, also known as the soft drinks industry levy, resulted in a significant drop in obesity cases among older primary school children. Research led by the Medical Research Council’s Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge suggests that this intervention may have prevented about 5,000 cases of obesity per year among Grade 6 girls alone.

The sugar industry’s resistance to the Health Promotion Levy follows a familiar pattern, mirroring the well-documented tactics of the alcohol and tobacco industries, which have long fought against public health taxes. Like Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol, the sugar lobby often claims that such policies will lead to job losses and economic harm, while conveniently ignoring evidence that the Health Promotion Levy has successfully reduced sugar consumption, encouraged product reformulation, and contributed to lower obesity rates. These industries have a history of sponsoring misleading studies, using emotional appeals, and framing themselves as protectors of workers, all while prioritising profits over public health.

Scandals


In light of scandals like the Hulett Tongaat debacle, the sugar industry’s claims of job protection ring hollow. The Tongaat Hulett case, one of South Africa’s largest corporate fraud cases, saw former executives embroiled in financial mismanagement that led to the loss of nearly 8,000 jobs. This highlights the hypocrisy of an industry that positions itself as a champion of workers, while prioritising profits at the expense of livelihoods. 

The lesson here is clear: prioritising profit over transparency and public good causes real harm. The focus must remain on the health of South Africans, as the Health Promotion Levy continues to show its effectiveness in addressing the country’s growing diabetes and obesity crises.

The science is clear, and the evidence is overwhelming: sugary drink taxation works. Policies like the Health Promotion Levy are endorsed by the World Health Organization, the South African Treasury, and leading public health experts. Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of the Western Cape found that the levy reduced sugary drink consumption by nearly 30%, and sugar content from these purchases fell by more than 50% since the levy’s introduction and cut sugar intake across the population. 

In a country where households facing food insecurity also grapple with weight-related diseases like diabetes and hypertension, the Health Promotion Levy is not just a tax — it’s a lifeline. These diseases impose huge financial and emotional burdens on families already struggling to make ends meet. The focus of this debate must remain on solutions that safeguard South Africans’ health and wellbeing, not on baseless attacks aimed at undermining organisations advocating for the public good.

We urge SA Canegrowers and all stakeholders to engage honestly and transparently in this conversation. The stakes are too high to allow distractions to derail the critical work of saving lives and building a healthier, more equitable future. DM

Categories:

Tags: