Health Minister Joe Phaahla has admitted that no specific research has been conducted on the effect of the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) on obesity, but insists that research has been carried out on the effects of HPL on the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, reports LegalBrief.
He was replying to a parliamentary question from DA MP Dean Macpherson.
“Scientists have shown that the HPL is working… for example, evidence shows that in the first year after the introduction of the HPL, urban household purchases of sugary beverages fell by 51%. Similar results were shown in young adults in Langa, Cape Town where a 37% in volume and 31% reduction in sugar intake was demonstrated,” he said.
“In Soweto, the frequency of sugar sweetened beverages intake among heavy consumers fell from 10 beverages per week before the tax to four beverages per week one year later. The results on the effectiveness of sugar sweetened beverages on consumption are published papers that are accessible to the public.”
Phaahla said there was currently no planned research focusing only on the impact of HPL on obesity “but the department is finalising the dietary intake study which will reveal other foods, including those with sugar, consumed by South Africans”.
The information would help the department identify “additional interventions” to control obesity and reduce the risks of non-communicable diseases.
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