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A call to action: advocating for the integration of oral health promotion and public health via sugar sweetened beverage taxation.

  • Bridge G Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Business School, Leeds, UK.
  • Lomazzi M World Federation of Public Health Association (WFPHA), c/o Institute of Global Health University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Global Health, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Bedi R Emeritus Professor, King's College London, Norfolk Building, Rooms G03G03A, Surrey Street, London, UK. Raman.bedi@kcl.ac.uk.
  • 2019-10-27
Published in:
  • British dental journal. - 2019
Beverages
Dental Caries
Health Promotion
Humans
Oral Health
Public Health
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Sugars
Sweetening Agents
Taxes
English We call on dental health professionals to advocate for the integration of oral health promotion into public health, and argue that a campaign for revenue from SSB taxation to be used for oral health promotion is a good place to start. The impact of sugar on health centres on obesity, diabetes and dental caries; these also have a disproportionate impact upon low income communities. Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are recognised as a universal major source of sugar, and it has been recommended that the amount and frequency of intake of SSBs should be limited. SSB taxes are a possible way of reducing sugar intake, as well as an effective method of integrating oral health (OH) into general health promotion. There is widespread support for these taxes from PH professionals as they have the potential to improve diet and nutrition, and by OH professionals since nutrition is an integral component of OH, and sugar reduction can reduce the incidence of caries. SSB taxes can also generate revenues which can be reinvested in healthcare to further health improvement. Despite the self-evident benefits for integration, few countries have made a concentrated effort to integrate. We argue that revenues must also be invested to promote OH through an integrated public health and dental public health approach.
Language
  • English
Open access status
bronze
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Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/46779
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