SA ‘fat tax’ plan fails to halt sweet drinks

Half of adult women and a third of adult men in SA are too heavy, say experts.

South Africa plans a new “fat tax” on sugary drinks to combat an obesity epidemic — but sweet-toothed consumers say its chances are slim of making them cut down.

Ranked as one of the most obese nations on the continent, South Africa is joining a growing list of countries around the world, such as Britain and Mexico, trying to put a cap on fizzy drinks.

But even health experts, who welcome the proposed levy, don’t believe the tax will single-handedly discourage South Africans from popping open bottles of sugar-packed soda and sweetened juices.

The levy, announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his budget in February, will come into effect in April next year.

It is aimed not only at saving people from their own unhealthy appetites but at offsetting the economic costs of diseases related to obesity.

In Zandspruit, a township west of Johannesburg, 30-year-old insurance broker Thulani Masango scoffs at the levy.

“We know sugar causes diabetes and obesity, but… we cannot survive without sugar,” said Masango, as he strolled down a dusty street.

“As we speak, the price of meat has gone up, but we continue braaing (barbecuing). Alcohol goes up almost every year, we still drink.

“It’s the same with sugar. It’s something that is uncontrollable,” said Masango.

A Zandspruit supermarket supervisor and mother of two, Anastacia Tshabalala, 53, agrees. She believes that sugar is addictive.

“Sugar is sugar! We are going to take it no matter what. Even if the price goes up, we have to take sugar everyday — you can’t live without it,” she said.

South African endocrinologist Professor Tess van der Merwe, who says half of adult women and a third of adult men in South Africa are “overweight”, is also sceptical.

“These are epidemic proportions,” she said, adding that about 15 per cent of South Africans are in the “morbidly obese category” — more than 100 pounds or 45 kilogrammes overweight.

“I don’t believe that it will curb the epidemic unless we have a definitive preventative and treatment strategy in place — like tax didn’t curb alcohol use,” she said.