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GENEVA — The Trump administration has torpedoed a plan to recommend higher taxes on sugary drinks, forcing a World Health Organization panel to back off the U.N. agency’s previous call for such taxes as a way to fight obesity, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions.
The move disappointed many public health experts but was enthusiastically welcomed by the International Food and Beverage Alliance — a group that represents companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo. and Unilever.
The revelations came Friday as a WHO panel on non-communicable diseases issued a report that aimed to cut down on diseases like diabetes, cancer and obesity, which kill about 40 million people each year. The fight against such diseases is a priority for WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Dr. Sania Nishtar, co-chair of the panel, said most of its 26 members supported a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages but one commissioner — whom she did not identify — hampered drafting stronger language.
The head of the World Health Organization says he is “rethinking” his decision to name Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe a goodwill ambassador after a global outcry.
Health leaders, activists and governments have slammed the appointment.
Mugabe, 93, is blamed in the West for destroying his country’s economy and numerous human rights abuses during his decades in power.
Britain said Mugabe’s appointment was “surprising and disappointing” and added that it risked overshadowing the WHO’s global work.
The United States, which has imposed sanctions on Mugabe for alleged human rights violations, said it was “disappointed.”
“This appointment clearly contradicts the United Nations’ ideals of respect for human rights and human dignity,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.
“This selection underscores why the United States continues to push for U.N. reform and leadership actions that uphold our shared U.N. ideals.”
Ethiopian Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s first African director-general, says he is now having a rethink in light of the UN agency’s values
I’m listening. I hear your concerns. Rethinking the approach in light of WHO values. I will issue a statement as soon as possible— Tedros Adhanom (@DrTedros) 21 octobre 2017
with Reuters
Media: Euronews
Eric Hargan, the U.S. deputy secretary for health and human services, reported that he was that member, arguing it was not clear that imposing taxes on sugary drinks like sodas and fruit juices would improve public health. WHO has argued exactly that over the last two years.
“Deputy Secretary Hargan opposed endorsing increasing taxes on sugary drinks in the commission report,” HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said, noting that the panel’s mandate was to make “bold” recommendations. “Taxes on sugary drinks is not new, bold, or innovative.”
She also said that “evidence is lacking that such a tax produces positive health outcomes.”
The U.S. provides a significant percentage of WHO’s yearly budget.
The sweetened-drink industry has come out strongly against any such tax but Nishtar said she was not aware of any industry lobbying of the commissioners.
Commission member Ilona Kickbusch, a former WHO staffer who directs the Global Health Center at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, said the United States “made it clear” that it did not want more regulation.
“They (the Trump administration) felt that the evidence was not strong enough that the tax would reduce the obesity epidemic,” she said.
Commission members said they decided to press ahead with the report, leaving open the possibility that the commission could strengthen its call in the future. The independent commission, created last year by Ghebreyesus, did recommend taxes on tobacco and alcohol.
Two years ago, Dr. Douglas Bettcher, who heads WHO’s non-communicable diseases department, said consumption of free sugars amounted to a “major factor” in the global increase of people suffering from obesity and diabetes. He insisted that taxes on sugary drinks would enable governments to “reduce suffering and save lives.”
Back then, WHO said a 20 percent price increase for such drinks would dramatically cut consumption.
“WHO’s position cannot change because of this report. What WHO said some years ago holds, because consumption of sugar is associated with obesity and at the same time, taxing sugar was shown to reduce consumption in many countries,” Ghebreyesus said.
“Not only that, the money from the taxes can be used to strengthen the health system,” he added. “There are many good examples of countries like Philippines, Ireland, South Africa, and Mexico that have demonstrated this.”
But instead of explicitly recommending a sugar tax, the WHO commission said Friday that countries themselves should decide if they want higher taxes on sugary drinks.
The beverage trade group applauded their decision.
“IFBA strongly agrees with the (WHO panel’s) assessment that the WHO and other government agencies should increase engagement of the private sector to achieve further progress,” the group said in a statement.
Jack Winkler, an emeritus professor of nutrition policy at London Metropolitan University, rejected the U.S. claim, saying there’s now convincing evidence that taxing sugary drinks works, citing, among other research, a recent article in the journal, The BMJ.
He said policies adopted in Britain show that taxing sugar-loaded drinks not only spurred manufacturers to reformulate their products but that “it has made the healthy choice the cheaper choice.”
Article source: https://www.chron.com/business/article/U-S-blocks-UN-health-panel-from-backing-taxes-on-12962188.php