Research from the Institute for Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS) estimates that the repeal of the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating (PAS) may affect informed decision-making when buying food, which would have a measurable negative impact on public health.
The presence of warning octagons on sodas and other sugary drinks serves as an example. “What nobody tells you about sugary drinks in children and adolescents in Argentina”A graphic piece disseminating information about a study conducted by the Department of Health Technology Assessment and Health Economics at IECS projected that the effective implementation of the law could reduce sugary drink consumption among children and adolescents by up to 23,7%. This reduction could prevent more than 104.000 cases of overweight and obesity in minors and more than 285.000 cases in adults.
The PAS Law can also prevent approximately 74.000 cases of type 2 diabetes, more than 19.000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 27.000 cases of chronic kidney disease, and more than 23.000 cases of cancer and other diseases associated with the regular consumption of sugary drinks, according to research conducted in the context of the implementation of the 2021 front-of-pack labeling standard.
“Front-of-package labeling is much more than just a label: it’s a comprehensive prevention policy. The impact we estimate at IECS for sugary drinks shows only a part of the law’s potential benefit, which includes warnings, marketing restrictions, and regulation of the school environment. Weakening or repealing this law would mean losing a simple, visible, and high-impact tool for protecting health, especially children’s health,” explained Andrea Alcaraz, coordinator of the Department of Health Technology Assessment and Health Economics at IECS and co-author of the study.
The economic impact of non-communicable diseases and the benefits of prevention
The IECS research team also studied the law's economic impact and estimated that, just by applying it to sugary drinks, its implementation could prevent expenses of more than 26.000 billion pesos each year. Without prevention policies, non-communicable diseases associated with the consumption of these beverages could represent healthcare costs exceeding 89.000 billion pesos annually.
“There are no health-related arguments to repeal the law. The health and economic impact of non-communicable diseases in our country is enormous, as they increase premature deaths and years lived with disability in the population. Much of this burden is associated with highly prevalent conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, which in turn increase the risk of suffering from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,” stated Natalia Elorriaga, a researcher at the Department of Chronic Disease Research at IECS.
For his part, Adolfo Rubinstein, director of the Center for Implementation and Innovation in Health Policies (CIIPS) at IECS, and who promoted front-of-package warning labels during his tenure as Minister of Health of Argentina, said in a article in La Nación“The Front-of-Package Labeling Law is a clear and simple tool for informing consumers about healthy options. This law was the result of collaboration between legislators from different parties, with the participation of NGOs, scientific societies, and international organizations. There is ample evidence that front-of-package food labeling is effective in influencing purchasing decisions and is already being implemented in Latin American countries such as Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, and Mexico, and in countries around the world such as Canada, South Korea, Israel, and New Zealand, among others. All objections to the Front-of-Package Labeling Law can be refuted with compelling evidence and data.”
Rubinstein then concluded: “Child malnutrition due to excess weight, overweight, and obesity affects 4 out of every 10 children and adolescents today; paradoxically, in an Argentina where more than half of that same population lives in poverty. This is the public health problem that will have the greatest impact on our development prospects in the coming decades. Children and adolescents who do not receive adequate nutrition today not only face a greater risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood, but their educational opportunities, employment prospects, and ability to contribute to the country's development will also be compromised.”
In this context, IECS joined more than 300 organizations, scientific societies, medical associations, universities and public health organizations in rejecting the possible repeal of the PAS Law. Pronouncement