Interview: Tax hike on sugary soft drinks to reduce obesity, say Mexican experts

Raising Mexico's tax on sugary soft drinks in conjunction with other measures can help reduce the country's expanding waistlines, experts said.

As Mexican lawmakers mull an initiative to double the current one-peso (0.05 U.S. dollar) tax on sugary beverages, health and nutrition experts are expressing support for the measure, but warning the tax alone cannot be seen as the only way.

Felipe Vadillo, a medical professor at Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM), told Xinhua that overweight or obese, a problem that affects about half of all Mexicans -- more than 60 million out of a population of 120 million -- is a serious and complex problem caused by multiple factors, and drinking too much soda is just one of them.

According to doctors, overweight and obesity are known to increase blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes. Excess weight also increases chances of developing other problems linked to strokes, including high cholesterol, high blood sugar and heart disease.

"More tax on sodas seems to me like a very good idea, as long as it isn't considered the only measure that is going to solve the problem," said Vadillo.

"We haven't yet fully understood how this became the No. 1 public health problem," said Vadillo.

The proposal, put forward by four senators, aims to cut Mexico's soda consumption, currently at around 163 liters per capita, by between 12 and 18 percent.

Backers of the tax say it has helped reduce consumption by 6 percent since it was first introduced in 2014, while soda manufacturers claim the tax only enriches the government and has had no affect in curbing sales.

Abelardo Avila, a researcher at the National Institute of Medical and Nutrition Sciences (INCMN), a department of the Health Ministry, is convinced doubling the tax on sodas, which leads to higher prices per liter, will lower demand and reduce the sugar consumption that helps lead to obesity.

But Avila also wants to see regulatory measures on advertising and marketing, which manufacturers use to minimize the affects of the tax.

"People consume soda not because it is a vice, like tobacco, but because they have not been sufficiently informed about the negative consequences. The advertising says it brings happiness," said Avila, adding he was speaking on his own behalf, not presenting an official stance.

The clarification is an indication of how much influence the industry can bring to bear on the government.

The tax would help spread the message that sugary drinks are bad for one's health, and raise revenue for public-sector preventive campaigns and treatment of ailments caused by excess weight and obesity, he said.

Raul Morin, president and founder of the Mexican Academy for the Study of Obesity (AMEO), welcomed a higher tax, but likened the campaign against sugary drinks to the struggle to combat smoking, saying it would be a long-term fight.

"In the case of tobacco, first they denied it was harmful, then they accepted it, and it wasn't until later that they placed warnings (on the packs). Once you know the facts, you can make a decision," said Morin.

All three agreed the tax hike is one of a package of measures, including regulation and inculcating good habits, needed to counter rising obesity in Mexico, today the largest consumer of processed foods in Latin America.

Regulations on advertising was key, said Avila, adding that Mexicans "are acquiring their (eating) habits through product commercials instead of through the experience of eating at an early age, which is how you establish a food culture."

UNAM professor Vadillo said measures must be taken to target children early in life to make a positive impact on their diet.

"We give them baby formula and they start from a very early stage to feed on sweet drinks. It's a factor, because we are teaching children to eat sweet things," said Vadillo.

Society also needs to offer people the tools to improve their lifestyle, said Morin.

"We tell people to eat well, but sell them unbalanced foods and we tell them to exercise, but don't provide them anywhere to exercise in," said Morin. Enditem