Sugar tax call in national diabetes inquiry

The federal Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport released its State of Diabetes in Australia 2024 report last month, making 23 recommendations to the government.

Among its recommendations for changes to food labelling and marketing regulations, the committee recommended that the government introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, which would increase depending on the sugar content.

The World Health Organization recommended that countries introduce a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in December 2022. As of February 2023, 106 countries and territories had some form of beverage tax, covering 52% of the population.

Another recommendation in the report was to expand current subsidies for continuous glucose monitoring devices, which are subsidized for people with type 1 diabetes.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems provide automatic glucose readings. People with type 1 diabetes can use them for an annual fee of $390, thanks to funding from the National Diabetes Services Program.

Without government subsidies, people with type 2 diabetes must pay up to $5,600 a year to access CGM.

The report found that the South Australian region has among the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the country.

Adelaide resident Geoffrey Jenkins, who previously had access to CGM on a test sensor, said the device was critical.

“Type 2 diabetes is almost the same disease as type 1 diabetes, but it’s usually diagnosed later in life, whereas type 1 diabetes is diagnosed early. Why can’t we have the same access to devices that they have?” Jenkins said.

“I think (Health) Minister Mark Butler should look at this carefully and make us equal. He can do that with the stroke of a pen.”

A spokesman for the minister said the government would “carefully consider the report” published on July 3.

“The Albanian government has a strong track record in supporting Australians with diabetes, including securing the listing of Fiasp on the PBS, delivering on our election commitment to ensure all 130,000 Australians with type 1 diabetes have access to subsidised CGM products… and expanding access to the insulin pump programme,” the spokesperson said.

In a speech in Adelaide in March this year, Butler said he would wait for the results of the investigation before making any changes.

“I have seen… some calls to make these technologies available to patients with type 2 diabetes… we take that very seriously,” he said at the time.

About 87 per cent of all diabetes cases in Australia are type 2 diabetes, which affects about 1.3 million people.

A report by Diabetes Australia suggests that around 500,000 Australians may currently have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

CGM systems provide continuous access to data, eliminating the need for regular finger pricking.

“I would prick my fingers three to five times a day, and for years my fingers were very, very sore,” Jenkins said.

“I don’t know how many thousands of needles have been stuck in my fingers.

“When you’re at a social gathering, you can’t throw everything out on the table. I had to go to the bathroom and check my blood sugar, which is not a pleasant place to do it.”

The commission reported that “it is clear that extending CGM subsidies to all patients with type 1 diabetes has produced positive health outcomes.”

“Ensuring all Australians have better access to this technology must be a priority,” the commission wrote.