The CDU does not want a soda tax on sweetened drinks in order to ensure a healthier diet for children and young people. The federal party conference in Stuttgart rejected a corresponding initiative by the Schleswig-Holstein regional association.

The motion stipulated that the CDU called for the introduction of a tax on drinks with a high sugar content. It should provide incentives to reduce sugar content with staggered rates. It also called for an age limit of 16 years for energy drinks.

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Günther’s plea for “steering effect”

Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther appealed for support in the hall. A tax with a steering effect is needed to counteract “massive health problems,” said the CDU politician, with a view to obesity in children, for example. The Christian Democratic answer is not bans, but market economy instruments.

However, the delegates followed the proposal committee’s recommendation to reject the proposal. “A sugar tax is not a health policy, but a green patronizing policy,” said Deputy Secretary General Christina Stumpp. A sugar tax would be a measure whose success is questionable, but which would “intervene deeply in the everyday lives of citizens.”

Federal Council initiative

Schleswig-Holstein’s CDU general secretary Lukas Kilian said after the decision, “even if the federal party conference did not follow our request, we will continue to push the issue forward from Schleswig-Holstein.” The black-green coalition has submitted a proposal for the February plenary session of the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament next week to sell energy drinks and advertise products that are harmful to children’s health. Among other things, this calls for a Federal Council initiative to protect children’s health. The Federal Council initiative should include a legal regulation that prohibits the sale of energy drinks to children and young people under the age of 16.

The Marburger Bund medical association has criticized the party conference’s rejection of a sugar tax as a “missed opportunity for effective prevention”. “Anyone who recognizes the high consumption of sugary soft drinks as a problem should not limit themselves to appeals for personal responsibility,” explained first chairwoman Susanne Johna on Saturday.

There is an acute need for action because around a quarter of children and young people are overweight, Johna continued. “A moderately designed tax based on sugar content would not be a ban, but rather a market economy instrument for ratio prevention. It creates incentives for reformulation and demonstrably reduces the sugar content of products,” explained Johna.

Doctors campaign for taxes

What has long been a reality in many European countries should also be possible in Germany, she demanded. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 110 countries worldwide have a tax on sugar.

Before the party conference, 46 medical and consumer associations campaigned for the CDU to speak out in favor of such a sugar tax. The appeal was supported by, among others, the consumer organization Foodwatch, the German Medical Association, the German Dental Association and other medical societies. Federal Food Minister Alois Rainer (CSU) had already rejected a sugar tax.