Doctors Call For 20% Fizzy Drinks Tax

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) has called for a 20% tax on sugary drinks in order to stem the country's growing obesity problem.

The RCPI Policy Group on Obesity is urging the Minister for Finance to introduce the tax in the 2014 Budget.

"Sugary drinks provide no nutritional benefits and are strongly associated with weight gain," the RCPI says.

"The Policy Group has also called on the Government to review how these drinks are promoted, and the effect that promotion has on consumption, particularly by children."

Prof Donal O’Shea, Consultant Endocrinologist and Physician at St Vincent’s University Hospital and St Columcille’s Hospital and Joint Chair of the RCPI Policy Group on Obesity said: "With one in four Irish schoolchildren classified as overweight or obese, we have an epidemic and the Government must take action.

"The World Health Organisation and the EU have highlighted childhood obesity as most important public health problem in the developed world. There is widespread agreement among health professionals, now backed by a convincing body of evidence, that sugar sweetened drinks, including sports drinks, and their pattern of consumption are significant factors in weight gain and obesity, especially among children.

"Despite this, sugar sweetened drinks remain popular in Ireland, and are heavily promoted. Sports personalities and organisations are often used by industry to market their sports drinks. This is certainly something that I believe should be discouraged in the future."

Dr Catherine Hayes, Associate Professor in Public Health Medicine, Trinity College Centre for Health Sciences and Joint Chair of the RCPI Policy Group on Obesity, said: "A Health Impact Assessment commissioned by the Department of Health in 2012 estimated that a 10% tax on sugar sweetened drinks would reduce the number of obese adults in Ireland by 10,000. The introduction of the tax would go some way towards reducing direct and indirect costs of obesity, and would generate additional much-needed revenue for prevention. For these reasons, we support the call of The Irish Heart Foundation, which calls for a 20% tax on sugar sweetened drinks in the 2014 Budget."

Recent research says the cost of obesity to the Irish state in 2009 was estimated at €1.13bn.

The costs include both healthcare costs and lost productivity due to the many illnesses for which obesity is a risk factor.

"Public Health must be prioritised over commercial gains, and government has a key role to play in this," a statement from the College said.

"To stem the tide of the obesity epidemic, we urge the Minister for Finance to introduce a 20% tax on sugar sweetened drinks, which provide no nutritional benefits and are strongly associated with weight gain, in Budget 2014. The government should also look at how these drinks are promoted, and the effect that this has on consumption."

(IT/CD)