Medical Associations in Australia Call for a Tax on Sugary Drinks

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) along with the Australian Dental Association (ADA) are demanding to impose a tax on sugary drinks amidst the Dental Health Week celebrations. This decision has been made to send a strong signal that sugary drinks are deeply unhealthy. Consuming sugary drinks regularly is associated with many negative health impacts such as obesity, tooth decay, gum disease, oral infections, oral cancer, and chronic diseases.

High Sugar Intake Taking Toll on Health and Oral Hygiene of Australians

Even though there are proven links to poor health outcomes, Australians drink at least 2.4 billion liters of sugary drinks every year, which is enough to fill 960 Olympic-sized swimming pools. 36 percent of adults and 41 percent of children drink sugar-sweetened beverages at least once a week, while 9 percent of adults and 7 percent of kids drink them daily.

These worrying figures highlight the impact of sugary drinks on children and adults suffering from chronic diseases (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the global epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases

Go to source). Hence, Australia should follow the lead of other countries and put a tax on sugary drinks.

Apart from general health, sugary drinks also affect oral health. Tooth decay was the most prevalent chronic disease in Australia, costing a whopping $4.5 billion in 2019. Sugary drinks contribute to tooth decay through their acidity action and being a source of nutrition to bacteria in the mouth.

Loss of tooth structure contributing to pain, loss of function, aesthetic changes, and bad breath are the effects of acidity contributed by sugary drinks. Potentially preventable hospitalizations for dental diseases were seen in 10 in 1000 children aged 5–9 years. Whereas, untreated tooth decay is present in 1 in 4 Australian children and 1 in 3 adults.

Fresh Calls for Sugar Tax on Soft Drinks to Save Lives

Sugar-sweetened beverages have also contributed to Australia’s obesity crisis. AMA’s research shows that imposing a tax on selected sugary drinks would reduce sugar consumption from soft drinks by 12 to 18 percent, which might lead to far better health outcomes (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
A Salient Sugar Tax Decreases Sugary-Drink Buying

Go to source).

The tax would also raise $749 to $814 million in revenue each year, which could be invested into preventative health initiatives to improve the health and well-being of Australians. But a broad range of measures would be required to tackle social and cultural inequities that prevent regular dental care.

Even the Dental Health Week campaign stressed the greater impact of poor oral health. Several studies revealed the link between oral health and numerous chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.

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The global beverage giants should consider the escalating health problems caused by sugary drinks and must be ready to act on reducing the quantity of consumption and sugar additions.

Henceforth, Australia should follow the lead of other countries and put a tax on sugary drinks. A new report found Australia was behind more than 85 countries and jurisdictions and risked being the odd one out if it didn’t implement the tax.

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The continuing efforts of the AMA for a sugary-drinks tax will be the right thing to do for the health of Australians. It will save lives and millions of dollars in healthcare costs.

References:

1. The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the global epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-021-00627-6)
2. A Salient Sugar Tax Decreases Sugary-Drink Buying - (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976211017022)

Source-Medindia