Brukało Katarzyna, Kaczmarek Krzysztof, Kowalski Oskar, Romaniuk Piotr
Department of Health Policy, Chair of Public Health Policy, School of Health Sciences in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
Department of Human Nutrition, Chair of Dietetics, School of Health Sciences in Bytom, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
Front Nutr. 2022 Jul 29;9:957256. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.957256. eCollection 2022.
One of tools to tackle growing problem of overweight and obesity are the taxation mechanisms applied to sugar-sweetened beverages, which are expected to influence the common eating behaviors, but also they have impact on the market and public finances. The solution is therefore highly entangled in the complex of social and intersectoral interests generating a number of opportunities and threats affecting its feasibility.
The study aims to depict the views of Polish stakeholders on the implementation of the sugar tax in Poland, particularly the perception of success determinants, barriers, as well as views on the features of the implemented solutions and possible alternatives.
We used semi-structured interviews with 18 individuals representing key public health stakeholders in Poland. The interview consisted of four parts, where first concentrated on the advantages and disadvantages of the SSB tax, the second part explored stakeholder involvement and stances, third concerned the feasibility of the project, and in the fourth part respondents were asked for suggestions for decision-makers regarding the content of the project and its implementation process. To reconstruct position of 4 main political parties we applied desk research. We used MAXQDA v2020 to analyse the collected data.
Stakeholders tend to expressed conflicting views on the effectiveness, relevance and socio-economic impact of the SSB tax. All of them agreed that the tax may appear severe for the poorest groups, children and adolescents, while disagreeing about the economic impact of the levy. The allocation of additional tax revenues was raising doubts, with stakeholders believing that the fiscal aim is the basic reason for implementing the tax, while these resources should be primarily dedicated to health promotion intervention and prevention of diet-related diseases. On the other hand, the political debate on the tax was highly superficial with strong populism arising of the presented positions.
There is a need to conduct a thorough public debate and improvements in terms of public communication to increase social awareness, sealing and refining the implemented solutions. Close cooperation with market players and non-governmental organizations is highly recommended.
应对超重和肥胖问题日益严重的一个工具是对含糖饮料征税的机制，这有望影响人们的日常饮食行为，同时也会对市场和公共财政产生影响。因此，该解决方案与社会和部门间利益的复杂网络紧密相连，产生了许多影响其可行性的机遇和威胁。
本研究旨在描述波兰利益相关者对波兰实施糖税的看法，特别是对成功决定因素、障碍的认知，以及对实施的解决方案的特点和可能替代方案的看法。
我们对代表波兰关键公共卫生利益相关者的18个人进行了半结构化访谈。访谈包括四个部分，第一部分集中在含糖饮料税的优缺点，第二部分探讨利益相关者的参与情况和立场，第三部分关注项目的可行性，第四部分询问受访者就项目内容及其实施过程给决策者的建议。为了重构4个主要政党的立场，我们进行了案头研究。我们使用MAXQDA v2020对收集到的数据进行分析。
利益相关者对含糖饮料税的有效性、相关性和社会经济影响往往表达出相互矛盾的观点。他们都认为该税对最贫困群体、儿童和青少年可能显得过于严苛，同时对征税的经济影响存在分歧。额外税收收入的分配引发了质疑，利益相关者认为财政目标是实施该税的基本原因，而这些资源应主要用于健康促进干预和预防与饮食相关的疾病。另一方面，关于该税的政治辩论非常肤浅，所呈现的立场中出现了强烈的民粹主义。
有必要进行全面的公众辩论，并在公众沟通方面加以改进，以提高社会意识，完善和优化已实施的解决方案。强烈建议与市场参与者和非政府组织密切合作。
