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Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | 3/2016 nEWS 35 Newsugartaxcould saveSouthAfrica billionsinhealthcare costs,expertssay ByDTI JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Cal- culations by the University of the Witwatersrand suggest that South Africa’s sugar-sweetened beverages tax, which is underway and pro- posed for implementation in April 2017, could save the country R10 bil- lion (€560 million) in expenditure related to treating Type 2 diabetes over the next 20 years. The fiscal initiative, which was introduced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his national budget speech in Febru- ary, is an effort to help reduce exces- sive sugar intake and curb obesity in thecountry. Although Gordhan said that the sugar tax will be implemented in April next year, he has not yet said how high the levy will be. With the measure, South Africa will follow countries such as Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico and Norway, which all tax sugar- sweeteneddrinksalready. “Treasury will need to decide on the tax rate and what qualifies to be taxed,” remarked Aviva Tugendhaft, Deputy Director of PRICELESS SA at the university’s School of Public Health. The research programme is one of 26 representatives of the Public Health Community of South Africa that submitted a letter to treasury endorsing the tax plans in April. “The government may decide to institute a flat rate on all bever- ages, as has been done in Mexico, or considertaxingthecaloriccontentof thedrinks,”shesaid. Both financial and health bene- fits resulting from the levy on bever- ageswithaddedsugar,includingsoft drinks,fruitjuices,energydrinksand vitamin waters, could be extensive, a 2015 study by Wits University has shown. If the tax is implemented at 20 per cent, Wits researchers calcu- lated savings of R10 billion in costs for hospitalisations and medica- tion related to treating rising cases of Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, the analystsestimatedthatthetaxcould prevent obesity in about 280,000 youngadults. South Africa has the highest obesity rate in sub-Saharan Africa. According to figures from the World Health Organization, 26.8 per cent of South Africans were obese in 2014. Just last year, the country’s health department released its national strategy on the prevention and con- trol of the condition. It stated that fiscal measures were the most cost- effective ways to combat rising obe- sity compared with measures such as food labelling, advertising regula- tionsormediacampaigns. Aside from increasing the risk forobesity,variousstudieshavecon- firmed the direct relation between the intake of dietary sugars and den- tal caries. Soft drinks and juices are especiallyharmfultotheteeth, since they tend to be very acidic, which makes the teeth particularly vulner- able to both dental decay and tooth erosion. SouthAfrica’sFinanceMinisterPravinGordhanproposedintroducinga taxonsugar-sweetenedbeveragesasof April2017in thenationalbudget speechinFebruary.(Photograph:feelphotoz/pixabay)