From MPOWER to S-POWER: adapting tobacco-control frameworks for sugar-sweetened beverage regulation in South Asia

Abstract

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is increasing across South Asia, alongside a growing burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Although countries in the region have introduced measures including taxation, nutrition labelling and restrictions in institutional settings, policies remain fragmented and implementation is uneven. Drawing on lessons from tobacco control, we propose Surveil, Protect, Offer, Warn, Enforce, and Raise (S-POWER) as an implementation framework to strengthen SSB regulation in South Asia. S-POWER brings together six complementary policy domains: surveillance of consumption and policy impact; protection of children from unhealthy food environments; provision of healthier alternatives; front-of-pack nutrition labelling; restrictions on marketing and promotion and health-oriented taxation. Rather than proposing new policy instruments, the framework seeks to connect existing evidence-based measures within a coherent regulatory approach. S-POWER may provide a practical basis for strengthening policy implementation in South Asia and other settings facing similar nutrition transitions and commercial pressures.