In its statement in response to calls for taxation on sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages, the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA) says it supports the ongoing efforts of the Canadian Federal and Provincial Governments, but disagrees with taxes on their members’ products as such measures “have proven ineffective in achieving desired outcome, and would not reflect the continued reduction of beverage calories in Canada.”
“Calls for measures such as taxation or labelling are a response to concerns about increasing incidence of obesity and resulting health concerns; however, it is important to note that obesity has continued to rise steadily over the past 20 years, while consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and beverage calories overall, has been declining over the same period,” the Association states.
“This has been tried in other jurisdictions and it has failed,” says Jim Goetz, the Association’s president. “It didn’t reduce obesity. It increased the price of groceries, and resulted in job losses in the food and beverage sector.”
The Association’s statement also emphasizes that Canada’s beverage companies voluntarily provide a clear calorie label on all of their products, in addition to what Health Canada requires.
