The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville revealed officials plan to implement new legislation that will create a tax for sugar and excess salt as well as try to eliminate trans fats being imported into the country.

When asked about the tax percentage, he could not say exactly.

“I’m telling you the draft legislation is complete. We’re about to move very quickly to have it at our Attorney General’s Office so that they can be drafted and after being drafted it has to be circulated through the public domain for input,” Dr Darville said yesterday.

“We’ve been looking at what Barbados has done. Barbados has already passed tax legislation for sugar and salt. Some of the other Caribbean countries are moving in the same direction.

“We know that we’re moving in the same direction and hopefully all of this will be necessary to implement to change choices and behaviour.”

Dr Darville unveiled the plan while explaining the importance of health and wellness to fight non-communicable diseases which are high in The Bahamas according to a recent survey.

“I’m so pleased to say that in the last budget I put a new line item for health and wellness and very soon I will be launching my health and wellness initiative. It will extend for our workers in the Department of Public Health and the PHA and by extension to all ministries and hopefully, very shortly be able to get to the grassroot.

“It’s important for us to preach health and wellness because we did a STEPS study that was completed and it clearly indicated where we are as a nation in terms of our health. We have the highest incidence of obesity in the region. We have the highest incidence of diabetes and hypertension. We have the highest incidence of renal failure and we must do better as a country.

“So the new health and wellness unit that is about to be established will be throughout the country preaching nutrition, physical activity, mental health, the importance of the selection of right foods, and we plan to implement some new legislation that will create a tax for sugar, a tax for excess salt (and) try to eliminate trans fats being imported into the country.

“All of these are precursors for cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and organ disease. Health and wellness is paramount and the STEPS survey clearly indicates the direction we’re heading in is the wrong direction.”

He also added the STEPS survey found that people smoking cigarettes in The Bahamas or tobacco use is actually increasing. The survey found that Bahamians take almost 10 times the recommended amount of salt per day in their diet.

“One of the things that is concerning us at the Ministry of Health is the fact that there are some genetic predispositions for hypertension among our diaspora and it’s very important that we look at nutrition and begin to do the right thing. So that we can prevent these chronic non-communicable diseases,” the Tall Pines MP noted.

“What we’re finding from the statistical analysis is that the majority of people that are utilising the beds at the Princess Margaret Hospital (or) Rand Memorial Hospital are those who are suffering from chronic non communicable diseases.

“We’re also noticing that they are repeats and so the new cases that are discovered are sometimes difficult to treat, because we have the same group of people oscillating through our tertiary healthcare facilities. Clearly demonstrating that we need to implement health and wellness and do a much better job and the primary health care level.”