Measures to Reduce Singaporeans’ Sugar Intake

5 Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar asked the Minister for Health (a) for each year in the past five years, how many diabetes cases have been diagnosed; and (b) when will the measures to reduce Singaporeans' sugar intake from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), namely, mandatory front-of-pack labels and advertising prohibitions be implemented.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health (Mr Amrin Amin) (for the Minister for Health): We estimate that 19,000 patients are diagnosed to have diabetes each year based on our administrative data.

We expect an increasing incidence of newly diagnosed diabetes in the short term with better access to health screening and as the population grow, more are aware of the importance of early detection and the potential complications of diabetes if left uncontrolled.

Diabetes is a chronic condition and it takes many years before complications present themselves. Many of our War on Diabetes initiatives are aimed at reducing the risk of developing diabetes and delaying the development of complications in those who already have the disease. It will take years before we see both the overall incidence of diabetes and its complication rate decrease.

One key thrust of the War on Diabetes is to promote healthy lifestyle through a healthier diet. With this in mind, the Ministry announced in October last year that we will introduce mandatory nutrition labels and advertising prohibitions for less healthy pre-packaged sugar-sweetened beverages. Details of the two measures, including the implementation timeline, will be shared in the upcoming Committee of Supply debate.

Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio): I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the answer. So, 19,000 diabetes cases each year. Does MOH have the numbers as to what are the causes of the diabetes cases, whether it is through direct sugar intake or is it through other foods such as high starch content?

The second supplementary question is: I know that the details will be announced later on at the MOH Committee of Supply debate but are there plans to extend the mandatory label for the SSBs to non ready-to-drink beverages, for example, bubble tea drinks, coffees and teas, or even syrup-based beverages that are served at buffets or eateries?

The third supplementary question is: whether there are plans to implement this more extensively to all mainstream schools and even our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in the canteens and cafes?

Mr Amrin Amin: I thank the Member for the question. I do not have the exact breakdown of what are the contributing factors of diabetes with me now, but what I have is the information on the freshly prepared drinks such as bubble teas, blended coffee and local "kopi" and "teh". This forms about a third of Singaporeans' sugar intake from drinks and our data suggests that it is a growing source of sugar intake in Singaporeans' diet.

So, addressing this other source of sugar in our diet could help us to more effectively achieve our objective of helping Singaporeans reduce their overall sugar intake. We have received feedback to tackle freshly prepared drinks and we are currently considering whether to extend the labelling and advertising measures to freshly prepared drinks. We are in the process of consulting the relevant stakeholders such as the food and beverage industry on possible measures and more details will be shared when ready.

On the third supplementary question, I believe we have measures in Government schools. I am not sure about IHLs. If the Member can file a separate Parliamentary Question, we can provide the response.

Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Just one supplementary question. Has the Ministry considered introducing sugar tax on carbonated beverages?

Mr Amrin Amin: We are studying that and we will discuss this at Committee of Supply debate.