A new tax will be imposed on sugar-sweetened beverages soon. The new levy is coming over a year after the government made the announcement.
Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office Lionel Max Hurst said the new tax is to discourage the importation of these sugar drinks and encourage parents to choose healthier beverages
“The tax is to discourage their importation and their use. The object is to try to persuade many parents to provide their children with wholesome drinks. Too often, the sodas youngsters consume are filled with sugar. Sometimes six teaspoons of sugar in a single bottle of cream soda…the idea is to discontinue feeding our children that kind of substance…” he said at the recent Cabinet Press Conference
Last December, the World Health Organization Today, released its first-ever global tax manual for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).
Currently, at least 85 countries implement some type of SBB taxation including Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
The WHO said the taxes have proven to be cost-effective ways of preventing diseases, injuries, and premature mortality.
Research has shown that regular consumption of sodas, soft drinks, flavored milk, energy drinks, vitamin waters, fruit juices, and sweetened iced teas, is associated with an increased risk of dental cavities, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and obesity which leads to life-threatening diseases including stroke and cancer
This is just the beginning of more taxes to come. Gaston flying around the world begging and borrowing money from all these countries. What you people expect, that he is borrowing these countries money and don’t pay back. Think again! Gaston is going to tax us to death. Maintaining the UWI Five Island Campus is very expensive while our only hospital and healthcare system are deteriorating.