BY: FARAHANA ABD RAZAK

There is a growing call by different sections of Malaysian society for more items to be included under the newly promulgated sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) tax as diabetes and obesity takes its toll in the country.

Proponents argue and state that, in addition to reducing sugar consumption, the revenue collected from the SSB Tax can be channelled back into programs to create awareness of the overconsumption of sugar.

This comes in the wake of a move by the health ministry to form a National Health Fund, under which it is envisaged funds will be pooled from various sources including tax revenue, non tax revenue and the ministry’s enforcement activities and SSB Tax.

A professor from the Public Health Medicine of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Faculty of Medicine suggested the SSB Tax revenue can be used to subsidise health care needs and services especially non communicable diseases or NCD.

The Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) stated that all sweetened drinks and food with sugar content such as chocolate, biscuits and sweets must be imposed the SSB Tax although this might result in an increase of the prices of these goods.

Khazanah Research Institute stated that the sugar tax revenue can be spent on promotive and preventive health related programs such as health education and early intervention medicine or health screening.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher