By Ojoma Akor
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on governments to increase taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages significantly.
In two new global reports released yesterday, the WHO warned that weak tax systems are allowing harmful products to remain cheap. In contrast, health systems face mounting financial pressure from preventable noncommunicable diseases and injuries.
The organization said sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages are getting cheaper due to
to consistently low tax rates in most countries, fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and injuries, especially in children and young adults.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said health taxes were one of the strongest tools for promoting health and preventing disease.
He said, “By increasing taxes on products like tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, governments can reduce harmful consumption and unlock funds for vital health services.”
WHO said the combined global market for sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages generates billions of dollars in profit, fueling widespread consumption and corporate profit.
“Yet governments capture only a relatively small share of this value through health-motivated taxes, leaving societies to bear the long-term health and economic costs,” it said.
The WHO reports show that at least 116 countries tax sugary drinks, many of which are sodas. But many other high-sugar products, such as 100% fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks, and
ready-to-drink coffees and teas, escape taxation.
While 97% of countries tax energy drinks, this figure has not changed since the last global report in 2023.
Also, a separate WHO report shows that at least 167 countries levy taxes on alcoholic beverages, while 12 ban alcohol entirely.
Despite this, the WHO said alcohol has become more affordable or remained unchanged in price in most countries since 2022, as taxes fail to keep pace with inflation and income growth. Wine remains untaxed in at least 25 countries, mainly in Europe, despite clear health risks.
Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, said, “More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries, and disease. While
industry profits, the public often carries the health consequences, and society the economic costs.”
WHO found the following across regions:
- Tax shares on alcohol remain low, with global excise share medians of 14% for beer
and 22.5% for spirits;
- Sugary drink taxes are weak and poorly targeted, with the median tax accounting for only about 2% of the price of an ordinary sugary soda and often applying only to a subset of beverages, missing large parts of the market; and
- Few countries adjust taxes for inflation, allowing health-harming products to become steadily more affordable.
These tax trends persist despite a 2022 Gallup Poll finding that the majority of people surveyed supported higher taxes on alcohol and sugary beverages.
WHO also called on countries to raise and redesign taxes as part of its new 3 by 35 initiative, which aims to increase the real prices of three products, tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks, by 2035, making them less affordable over time to help protect people’s health.
