Developments in the implementation of sugar-sweetened beverage tax in Malaysia – A narrative review

Abstract

The high and growing prevalence of obesity in Malaysia is a public health concern. There is a growing effort towards creating an environment that supports healthy lifestyles through instituting appropriate public health policies. The Sweetened Beverages Excise Duty is a recent initiative in this direction that was enforced on July 1 st , 2019. In this status update, we trace the developments in the implementation of the tax. This paper collates the preparatory considerations preceding the implementation of the tax, the proposed objectives of the tax, its format as reported in the media. The early sentiments expressed by the stakeholders in the duration leading to the implementation and immediately after (10 days' post-implementation) the enforcement of the duty are also presented here. This preliminary information will be useful to evaluate the effectiveness of this newly introduced Sweetened Beverages Excise Duty in Malaysia.