African civil society organizations have released a pivotal report on October 16, 2024, highlighting the beverage industry’s tactics to obstruct public health policies, particularly sugar-sweetened beverage, SSB taxes, in Cameroon, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Titled “Sweetened Profits: The Industry’s Playbook to Fight Sweetened Beverage Taxes,” the report reveals how major beverage companies, referred to as Big Soda, employ a coordinated global strategy to deny, dilute, and delay effective public health policies related to sugar consumption.
The report was jointly launched by three African organizations: Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA in Nigeria, Reconciliation and Development Association, RADA in Cameroon, and Healthy Living Alliance, HEALA in South Africa. Originally unveiled in September 2024 by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, GHAI, this re-launch coincides with the Global Week for Action on Non-Communicable Diseases, NCDs from October 15 to 22, 2024.
The GHAI’s comprehensive analysis outlines how Big Soda not only fuels the consumption of sugary drinks—linked to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, but also negatively impacts environmental sustainability. As African nations face rising rates of diet-related NCDs, organizations like RADA in Cameroon advocate for the implementation of SSB taxes, while CAPPA and HEALA strive to protect and strengthen existing taxes in Nigeria and South Africa.
Vice President of Food and Nutrition at GHAI, Verónica Schoj, stated, “While the global community is working towards creating healthier populations, Big Soda is using its influence to derail policies that could save millions of lives and billions in healthcare costs. Our report reveals the depth and breadth of the industry’s efforts to protect its profits at the expense of public health.”
The report identifies five primary strategies employed by Big Soda to undermine SSB taxes across more than 25 countries:
- Economic Alarmism: Claims that SSB taxes would lead to job losses and economic downturns, as seen in Nigeria and Pakistan.
- Exploiting Social Concerns: In Indonesia, the industry uses corporate social responsibility initiatives to overshadow the negative health impacts of sugary drinks.
- Manipulating Tax Designs: In Vietnam, industry bodies have pushed for exemptions for certain drinks from taxation.
- Mounting Legal Challenges: Legal threats in Colombia and Spain have been used to intimidate governments and contest the legality of SSB taxes.
- Discrediting Scientific Evidence: Tactics in Guam and China demonstrate how industry-funded research questions the effectiveness of SSB taxes.
Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, criticized beverage companies for exploiting false narratives and misleading the public regarding health impacts in Nigeria. He emphasized, “Their approach not only shows their focus on profit but reinforces the alarming way they mislead the public and interfere in policy processes.”
Also, President/CEO of RADA in Cameroon, Ferdinant M. Sonyuy, noted the industry’s involvement in community initiatives, stating, “This masks the negative impact of the source of the financing for their philanthropy.”
In South Africa, CEO of HEALA, Nzama Mbalati, highlighted the parallels between tactics used by the sugar industry and those employed by tobacco and alcohol industries, noting that these practices create significant barriers to public health policy implementation, ultimately costing ordinary citizens in terms of health outcomes.
The GHAI report urges policymakers, civil society, and health advocates to anticipate and counter these industry tactics by designing robust, evidence-based SSB tax frameworks that prioritize public health over corporate profits.