Health & Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton - FILE PHOTO
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Health & Wellness Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton is again urging manufacturers to use less sugar in their products.
Manufacturers of non-alcoholic beverages, including sodas, have been expressing outrage over a new tax on sugary drinks being proposed by the government as part of a new revenue package.
Finance Minister Fayval Williams said on Thursday that the new tax on sugary drinks was aimed at protecting the health of Jamaicans struggling with chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
Dr Tufton addressed the matter at a function in St. Mary on the weekend and strongly defended the tax measure in the context of the health crisis that he outlined.
Insisting that the government was not "beating up on manufacturers who, as it is their right, are manufacturing for a market," but he said it was important to "use policy to guide behavior in a positive way."
He said his preferred approach is to reach out to the manufacturers "to explain the challenge that we face from a health perspective... and to say there are solutions to the challenge."
He said the health sector is in danger of being overwhelmed with more people being diagnosed with chronic illnesses, stressing that the problem is "escalating at a pace where we cannot build enough hospital beds, operating theatre, hire enough doctor(s)... to deal with the demand, if we don't control through prevention."
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