Health Ministry urges sugary drink tax as consumption soars in Vietnam
HANOI: The Ministry of Health (MoH) has raised concerns over the sharp rise in sugary drink consumption in Vietnam, warning that failure to impose a special consumption tax could come at the cost of public health.
In 2023, the average Vietnamese consumed around 66 litres of sugary beverages, equivalent to 18g of sugar per day, or 36 per cent of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s maximum recommended intake for adults.
Between 2009 and 2023, sugary drink consumption quadrupled, nearly doubling in the past decade alone. Per capita consumption surged by 350 per cent, from 18.5 to 66.5 litres per year.
A 2019 national survey found that nearly 34 per cent of students aged 13–17 drank carbonated beverages at least once a day.
The WHO estimates that without stronger controls, sugary drink consumption in Việt Nam could rise by an average of 6.4 per cent annually through 2028, fuelling higher rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
The MoH says that taxing sugary beverages is one of the most effective and low-cost interventions to reduce sugar consumption and prevent non-communicable diseases. The WHO recommends a tax that raises retail prices by at least 20 per cent.
According to research by the Hanoi University of Public Health, such a tax in Việt Nam could reduce rates of people who are overweight or obese by 2.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively, prevent 80,000 diabetes cases and save nearly VNĐ800 billion (US$30.77 million) in healthcare costs.
At a National Assembly session debating amendments to the Law on Special Consumption Tax, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang said WHO data showed Vietnam was among the countries with the fastest-growing sugary drink consumption.
'Most of the sugar we consume comes from these beverages, driving obesity. WHO recommends a minimum 20 per cent tax. Frankly, we should have acted sooner,' he said.
Delegate Le Hoang Anh from Gia Lai Province rejected the proposed 8–10 per cent tax from 2027 as too slow and too weak, arguing it fails to align with the national priority of putting health first.
He pointed to countries like Thailand, which introduced a sugary drink tax in 2017, and the Philippines and Malaysia, which now collect billions of dollars annually from similar levies.
'If we don't act today, we will pay tomorrow, in lives lost, higher medical costs and reduced productivity,' he warned.
Anh recommended adopting a 10 per cent tax starting in 2026, rising to 20 per cent by 2030, along with an absolute tax based on sugar content, like Thailand's.
At least 108 countries have already imposed a special consumption tax on sugary drinks, including six in South-East Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia and Laos.
The MoH says this demonstrates that such a tax is feasible and necessary for developing countries like Vietnam.
Since 2017, Thailand has imposed a tiered excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages based on their sugar content, rather than a flat percentage. The higher the sugar content, the higher the tax, reaching up to 5 baht ($0.15) per litre for drinks with more than 14 grammes of sugar per 100ml. On top of this, a 14 per cent value-added tax is also applied to the ex-factory price.
The tax increases retail prices by approximately 11 to 20 per cent, encouraging manufacturers to reduce sugar content and helping curb sugar-related health risks.
In the Philippines, the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages has been in effect since 2018.
It imposes a specific excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, charging 6 pesos ($0.10) per litre for drinks sweetened with sugar or non-caloric sweeteners and 12 pesos per litre for those containing high-fructose corn syrup.
This tax has effectively raised retail prices by about 16 to 20 per cent, aiming to curb consumption and tackle health issues like obesity and diabetes. — Vietnam News/ANN
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