Data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that diabetes was the fifth-leading cause of death among Taiwanese last year. Even more concerning is that the disease is more commonly affecting young people.
Long-term consumption of excessively sugary beverages and refined sugar products is causing Taiwanese to develop metabolic diseases early in life, posing significant challenges to the country’s healthcare system and social structure.
The hidden risks posed by sugary drinks can no longer be ignored. Many Taiwanese beverage shops promote “half sugar” and “low sugar” options as healthier alternatives, but their actual sugar content might still exceed the recommended daily intake. Coupled with incentivized marketing and attractive prices, sugary beverages have become a daily staple for students and workers, leading to high rates of dependency.
Imposing a sugar tax on businesses by raising the price of sugary beverages could guide changes in consumer behavior and encourage the industry to invest in the development of low-sugar and sugar-free beverages. That would promote the creation of healthier products and reduce excessive sugar consumption at its source.
The strategy should not be regarded as a punitive tax, but rather as a positive market regulation mechanism.
To design a reasonable sugar tax mechanism, Taiwan’s wide variety of beverages and the significant differences in sugar content must be taken into account. Determining how to categorize drinks and levy the tax are two key legislative issues.
A differential tax rate based on the sugar content of beverages would allow their prices to more accurately reflect health costs, which would promote fairness, and encourage businesses and consumers to opt for healthier products. The government could also allocate sugar tax revenue toward diabetes prevention efforts, nutrition education or improving school-provided meals, thereby enhancing overall public health and making health policy more socially just.
There are already many successful international examples. Since the UK implemented a sugar tax on soft drinks in 2018, beverage companies have reduced the sugar content of their products by nearly 30 percent. The policy’s purpose was not to increase tax revenue, but to improve public health and reduce the long-term burden on the national healthcare system.
Similar policies in Mexico and Thailand have also had success, with the former seeing as much as a 12 percent decrease in taxed drink purchases and the latter reporting a significant increase in low-sugar drink options.
The examples show that implementing a sugar tax or levy can not only alter consumer behavior, but can also shift the entire food industry in a healthier and more sustainable direction. Research on the health impacts of such a tax mechanism suggests it would significantly reduce national rates of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay — thereby benefiting overall public health.
While some players in the beverage industry have already voiced strong opposition and the Health Promotion Administration has yet to formally include a sugar tax on its policy agenda, several lawmakers recently proposed implementing tax exemptions for sugar-free beverages and urged the Ministry of Finance to support the initiative in an aim to further improve public health.
Around the world, 117 countries have implemented taxation on sweetened beverages, accounting for about 57 percent of the world’s total population. It is clear that implementing a sugar an internationally trending method for addressing the chronic disease crisis. If Taiwan follows this trend, it could lay a stronger foundation for the health of generations to come.
Dino Wei is an engineer.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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