Sin tax not enough to fight NCDs, warns public health specialist

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Warning that Jamaica is facing a deepening crisis driven by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), regional priority non-communicable disease and family health coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) Dr Marcia Johnson-Campbell is urging a unified national response, cautioning that measures such as taxation on sugary drinks, while important, will not be sufficient on their own.

Speaking during the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) 2025/2026 Western Campus Seminar at Sea Gardens Beach Resort on Wednesday, Johnson-Campbell argued that policy responses such as the sugary sweetened beverage tax must be supported by broader strategies.

“We have a rising NCD burden in Jamaica and young people are increasingly being affected. Collaboration is essential. It’s not optional, because in health, we can’t do it alone. The minister [of health] can’t do it alone. The field officers can’t do it alone. We all have to work together!” the public health specialist appealed.

“Taxation may not be enough — and even if it is that we are bringing in revenue from this tax, what should the tax be used for?” she added.

She suggested the revenue earned from the tax on sugary drinks could be channelled towards investments in workplace wellness programmes, parks and public education.

Johnson-Campbell underscored that policies without enforcement will fail, citing ongoing breaches of tobacco regulations in public spaces.

“The health sector alone cannot solve NCD. We may even go ahead and make the policies, but if it is not implemented, if it is not enforced, it fails,” she said.

“The tobacco regulations still have not been effectively enforced. Everywhere you go, even though it is prohibited by law to be smoking in public places, to be smoking in places close to where children are going to be active, it still happens, and nobody does anything about it,” Johnson-Campbell added.

Underscoring the urgent need to tackle lifestyle-related illnesses through collaborative action, she argued that the intention behind such measures is behavioural change.

“The introduction of a tax on sugary drinks is not to punish, but to protect. We want to reshape behaviour,” she told her audience which largely consisted of UTech final year business students.

Highlighting findings from national surveys, Johnson-Campbell sounded an alarm that there is mounting evidence linking dietary habits to chronic illnesses.

“In Jamaica, the research shows that more than half of people consume sugary drinks every single day. Quietly, most invisibly, those choices begin to add up,” she stressed.

“Years later, a diagnosis of hypertension and then diabetes, maybe heart disease. This is not hypothetical, because in Jamaica hypertension affects roughly one in three adults, and diabetes affects up to one in five. Stroke is now one of the leading causes of death, with diabetes close behind,” Johnson-Campbell cautioned as she painted a worrying picture of the nation’s ill health.

“More than half of the population is pre-obese or obese, two thirds have elevated blood pressure, a quarter have pre-diabetes or diabetes combined, and the frightening thing is the status of being unaware of what is really happening,” she expressed.

She warned that “the bigger picture is that our health affects productivity and productivity affects development”.

“If we have a healthy population, we will have a stronger workforce, reduced healthcare costs and improved quality of life,” she said.

She said the results of research into sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is especially troubling among vulnerable groups.

“Overall, about one in three Jamaicans consume sugar-sweetened beverage one or more times per day. We found also that there was higher consumption among young persons and persons with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to consume sugary drinks,” she noted.

The public health specialist appealed for greater use of research to drive real-world change.

“We have the theory; we have to shift it now to the industry, where we can have real-world applications, where we can have work environments that are healthy,” she said.

She challenged students and stakeholders listening to play an active role in shaping solutions, from digital health innovations to healthier food options and advocacy.

“The next chapter has not yet been written, it will be written by people like you,” said Johnson-Campbell.

Regional Priority Non-communicable Disease and Family Health Coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority, Dr Marcia Johnson-Campbell, speaking during the University of Technology Jamaica (UTech) 2025/2026 Western Campus Seminar at Sea Gardens Beach Resort on Wednesday. Horace Hines