Advocating for the Mexican SSB tax: Building a successful campaign coalition and confronting industry strategies

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Advocating for the Mexican SSB tax: Building a successful campaign coalition and confronting industry strategies"

Alexia Norton
5 years ago
Views:

1 Advocating for the Mexican SSB tax: Building a successful campaign coalition and confronting industry strategies Luis Manuel Encarnación Paris, World Cancer Congress 2016

3 Prevalence of Diabetes Diabetes is the second leading cause of death in Mexico. Incidence of diabetes has doubled in Mexico every ten years since in 3 Mexican children is at risk to develop diabetes type II in their lifetime. INEGI and Ministry of Health Mortality database; ibid; Meza 2015

Dietary Change in Mexico Changes in Mexican household expenditure, 1984-1999 -29.3-26.7 Fruits & Vegetables Milk -18.8 Meat 6.6 Refined Carbs 37.

4 Dietary Change in Mexico Changes in Mexican household expenditure, Fruits & Vegetables Milk Meat 6.6 Refined Carbs 37.2 Sugar sweetened Beverages 69% of added sugar in the diet comes from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). 65% of children between 1-2 years of age consume SSBs. Rivera JA et al. Public Health Nutrition, 2002, 5: ; Sánchez-Pimienta TG. J. J. Nut. 2016; López Olmedo N, y Col. J of Nutr. (Acceptado); Rodríguez-Ramírez S. y Col. J of Nutr. (Acceptado)

5 The Nutritional Health Alliance

6 Comprehensive Nutritional Health Policy Agenda Healthy foods in schools Ban on child targeted marketing of junk food Easy-to-understand food and beverage nutritional labels Access to potable water Food security Fiscal measures: Sugar-sweetened beverage tax Promotion of breastfeeding Promotion of consumption of unprocessed, locally produced foods

7 Three essential campaign steps 1. Expose the human drama People see: the victim feel: interested 2. Identify the culprits see: the enemy feel: angry see: a solution feel: engaged 3. Present solutions

8 Demonstrations «500,000 deaths in six years» in front of the Ministry of Health

9 Campaigning in public spaces First came obesity, then diabetes

10 In the Mexico City subway

11 Campaigning in public spaces 12 spoonfuls of sugar

12 Billboard on an avenue of Mexico City

13 Campaign Strategy: Promote the SSB tax With the soda tax: Drinking fountains in schools and public spaces Soda is sweet. Diabetes isn t.

14 Multistakeholder support for the SSB tax National Institute of Public Health-Legislators-Panamerican Health Organization and Civil Society

The industry s playbook Pressure on media companies to

stations, 1 radio station and 2 publishing houses

active and no health merit to tax Media strategy:

dailies Industry campaigns: Soda industry and sugar

sugar cane producers Creation of consumer associations

15 The industry s playbook Pressure on media companies to close airways and advertising to the Alliance: 3 TV stations, 1 radio station and 2 publishing houses Messages: No to the Bloomberg tax, We ll all pay, Get active and no health merit to tax Media strategy: Press conferences, OpEds and paid inserts in national dailies Industry campaigns: Soda industry and sugar cane producers Engagement of local store owners and sugar cane producers Creation of consumer associations with campaigns against the soda tax Heavy industry lobby in Congress

16 Responses to the soda industry The soda tax comes from experts IOTF (World Obesity) supports the soda tax

17 Full page ads in newspapers Responses to the soda industry Soda industry lobbyists transmit the obesity epidemic It s time for a change Senators, you have the floor.

18 2015 Defense of the Tax Industry proposed a reduction of the tax from $1 peso per liter to $.50 on beverages with less than 5g/100ml

19 2016 Defense: Emphasizing Harms of SSBs Don t harm their hearts Mass media campaign

20 2016 Defense: Emphasizing Harms of SSBs Sweet Venom Youth composed album

21 Proposal to Raise the SSB Tax to 20%

22 For more information:

Using the media in tobacco and soda tax campaigns: the Mexico experience

Using the media in tobacco and soda tax campaigns: the Mexico experience Luis Manuel Encarnación Cruz Member of the Mexico SaludHable Coalition Coordinator of the ContraPESO Coalition World Cancer Congress