Sweet Drink Tizzy

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In a country reported to have a high incidence rate of non communicable diseases one of the issues causing Bajan tongues to wag violently is the increase in the excise tax on ‘sweet drinks’. During last month’s budget presentation Prime Minister Mia Mottley decreed that effective 1 April 2022 (today) the excise tax on sweet drinks increases by 20%.

On the face of it one would have assumed the imposition of a sin tax in the prevailing circumstances should be accepted for what it is. Instead many Bajans are expressing that it is a revenue grab instead of part of a holistic approach to tackling the health of the nation. 

It seems ridiculous any government should have to legislate to encourage individuals to take responsibility for health decisions, such is the reality; people have to be protected from themselves. The government needs to tax citizens to ensure a balanced budget and at the same time implement effective policies to ensure there is a seamless relationship between achieving financial and non financial targets. Bad decisions taken by SOME Barbadians ultimately effect ALL Barbadians in the pockets.

Can we agree a national debate promoting a healthy lifestyle given the high incidence of NCDs is a good thing? The ‘proposed’ increase in the price of sweet drinks has triggered a national discussion, mission achieved. The blogmaster deliberately used the word proposed because a feature of the Mottley government has been to back out or delay a few decisions taken. Latest example is the postponement of breathalyzer testing because a metered taxi rate system needs to be implemented. You simply cannot make this stuff up.

There is voluminous information to support the conclusion sweet drinks have a high calorific content and therefore high consumption by individuals is likely to negatively impact ones health. The evidence is apparent that the current health trajectory Barbados is on must be interrupted. While we jabber away money must be found to pay for lifestyle choices made by Barbadians. If we want to drink sweet drinks and exhale smoke from our nostrils like Portvale factory, we must pay for it. A good government has to provide leadership that redounds to the benefit of the nation. There are numerous risk factors to manage as it relates to a healthy lifestylke, it is established sweet drinks contribute negatively to the risk factors associated with NCDs.

The blogmaster looks forward to those in the public and private sector charged with healthcare working together to implement effective measures to save Barbadians from themselves. 

See relevant link:

Sugary Drinks Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/sugary-drinks/

251 thoughts on “Sweet Drink Tizzy”


  1. “Am sorry, but never set out to be a BU teacher, that is
    and will NEVER be my intent…you have the wrong person…”
    “…uosɹǝd ƃuoɹʍ ǝɥʇ ǝʌɐɥ noʎ…ʇuǝʇuᴉ ʎɯ ǝq ɹƎΛƎN llᴉʍ puɐ
    sᴉ ʇɐɥʇ ‘ɹǝɥɔɐǝʇ ∩q ɐ ǝq oʇ ʇno ʇǝs ɹǝʌǝu ʇnq ‘ʎɹɹos ɯ∀”

    you didn’t answer the question
    and should give it reflection
    if the answer is Wuraola
    what was the question?

    Reply ↓

  2. Learn to pronounce antithesis

    a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
'love is the antithesis of selfishness'
synonyms: (direct) opposite, converse, reverse, reversal, inverse, obverse, the other extreme, the other side of the coin, the flip side
(in Hegelian philosophy) the negation of the thesis as the second stage in the process of dialectical reasoning.
    Reply ↓

  3. If you want to be a good teacher
    you must be sweet like sugar
    and not the apotheosis of polrumptious* and obstropolous**
    (*/**) describing someone who’s grumpy, argumentative, and totally convinced that they’re right.

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  4. tell that to those on BU to teach….again……SHARING INFORMATION IS THE ONLY GOAL…and does not require any of your load of crap…

    and looking to make friends and grow followers is not part of the agenda…, it’s straight forward, cut and dried…who understands that will, who don’t, tough….and proves my point about the inability to understand BASIC ENGLISH…

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  6. Today’s Nation Editorial


    Eat healthier at lower cost
    This society is in the midst of severe challenges. Efforts to contain the cost of living have been handed a severe blow by the war in Ukraine.
    Most of the focus on that war rests on the global human rights aspects of the conflict and on the manner of its execution; and also on the “warring” parties directly involved.
    But there is also a two-edged and devastating blow to the cost of local consumer items caused by the anticipated scarcity of supply, as well as the knock-on effect of increased transportation costs.
    Following upon the adverse economic impact of COVID-19 on the costs of basic food, it has become clear that Barbadian households will have to be much more careful about their spending habits.
    Every single penny must count. The old-fashioned approach of cutting and contriving has to return to the front burner. We are not suggesting a wholesale adoption of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s advice that we should get back to the kitchen garden.
    Yet a change in our buying and eating habits is necessary. Some of the most traditional foods cost much less than the fashionable but newer fare.
    An obvious benefit to our country is that, as the medical experts tell us, the fibre content of the complex carbohydrates of traditional foods will almost certainly provide a healthier, higher and better quality life for those sensible enough to choose this traditional approach to making and consuming food.
    Some return to traditional choices would signal a renewed national attack on the non-communicable diseases so widespread in this country.
    It is the least we can do to encourage Barbadians
    to return to and consider some of the old ways of doing things in the kitchen garden and thereafter in the kitchen. Thus, we might “kill two birds with one stone”.
    Avoid medical expenses
    We can eat healthier while enjoying the immediate lower financial outlay. We can also avoid future medical costs associated with the dreaded lifestyle diseases that come from unhealthy eating and exercise habits.
    Given current energy challenges, it would also be in the national interest to tap into the renewable energy market.
    Circumstances alter cases.
    The traditional way of warming water used by some in earlier days is a reminder of how the sun can be adapted in a modern manner to assist in the cost of otherwise providing electricity by the use of fossil fuels.
    The grim reality is that the war may continue for some time and that even if it ends almost immediately, there will be some inevitable lead time before a return to normality from the combined deleterious impact of the COVID-19 experience and the Ukraine war.
    We urge our people to brace themselves, as Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley says, for some discomfort. There is not much we can do to cause and ensure a cessation of the hostilities.
    On the other hand, as individuals, we can effectively support the national objective of aiming for food security and also protect our national health and the economics of health care.
    A concerted return to the better aspects of our traditional ways of backyard gardening and nutrition and cultural ways of doing some things can re-equip us with keys to a much healthier and less expensive quality of life.

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  7. re SHARING INFORMATION IS THE ONLY GOAL
    really? it is about SHARING the CORRECT PERTINENT PRACTICAL INFORMATION PERRENNIALLY

    WE HAVE NOT DONE THIS HERE OR ON THE ISLAND FOR THIS ISSSUE NOR HAVE WE DONE IT FOR COVID 19, BUT WE HAVE CHATTERED AT LENGTH AND WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO LEARN FROM GOOD SOLID ADVICE

    O TE MISERUM

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  8. (Quote):
    April 8, 2022 5:47 AM
    Every single penny must count. The old-fashioned approach of cutting and contriving has to return to the front burner. We are not suggesting a wholesale adoption of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur’s advice that we should get back to the kitchen garden.
    Yet a change in our buying and eating habits is necessary. Some of the most traditional foods cost much less than the fashionable but newer fare.
    An obvious benefit to our country is that, as the medical experts tell us, the fibre content of the complex carbohydrates of traditional foods will almost certainly provide a healthier, higher and better quality life for those sensible enough to choose this traditional approach to making and consuming food.
    (Unquote).
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    @ David [BU]:

    It seems your mainstream media ‘colleagues/competitors are slowly coming around to the idea of imposing a FAT TAX (which, euphemistically speaking, can be labelled the NCD Levy) on Fast Food (aka slow poisoning) outlets whose annual sales exceeds the VAT registration threshold.

    Maybe a bigger push of this idea from yourself and the likes of Kammie Holder could see the imposition of such a levy in the same manner that the recent increase in the “Sweet Drink” levy is expected to realize a reduction in diabetes among Bajans.

    Basing the argument on ‘the polluter pays principle, why not frontload the ‘known’ future costs of care for those stricken with the NCDs the same way the users of alcohol and tobacco are burdened with taxation?

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