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Civil groups renew call for sugary drinks tax
A recent survey by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) on 800 respondents in 10 major cities in the country reveals that 58 percent of customers support the policy of excise tax for sweetened beverages.
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A worker arranges sweetened drinks in a supermarket in Jakarta on Dec. 14, 2023. A survey by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) revealed that 58 percent of 800 respondents supported the plan to impose an excise tax on sweetened beverages to control the consumption of sugary products and prevent diabetes in children, which has increased 70 times in January 2023 compared with 2010. (Antara/Cahya Sari)
H
ealth activists have reiterated the need for the government and lawmakers to expedite the implementation of the long-awaited excise tax on sweetened beverages, which has seen multiple delays despite health authorities’ ongoing efforts to curb rising obesity and diabetes in the country.
Imposing the tax on all packaged sugary beverages is a pressing issue, considering Indonesia’s position among the top five countries with the highest number of diabetic patients in the world, according to Diah Saminarsih, founder of the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI).
“Diabetes prevalence has been increasing among youth as well. It’s crucial to regulate the tax as soon as possible to reduce its consumption,” Diah told The Jakarta Post recently.
Nearly 19.5 million out of 180 million people aged 20 to 79 in Indonesia suffer from diabetes, according to a 2021 estimate by the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF). The figure has increased to almost twice the 10.7 million recorded in 2019.
Experts have attributed Indonesia’s rising diabetes prevalence to a growing societal shift toward sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets, including the increasing popularity of sugary drinks.
According to CISDI, the country saw a 15-fold increase in the annual consumption of sugary drinks in the last two decades: from 51 million liters in 1996 to 780 million liters in 2014. Such an increase has placed Indonesia as the third-highest consumer of sweetened beverages in Southeast Asia.
A 2018 survey conducted by the Health Ministry also revealed that 66 percent of children and teens aged 5 to 19, and 64 percent of adults older than 20 years old, like to consume sweetened drinks at least once a day.
