{"id":283318,"date":"2026-01-14T05:11:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/283318\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T05:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:11:07","slug":"increase-taxes-on-sugary-drinks-and-alcohol-to-save-lives-urges-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/283318\/","title":{"rendered":"Increase taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol to save lives, urges WHO"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.who.int\/en\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WHO<\/a> is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/13-01-2026-cheaper-drinks-will-see-a-rise-in-noncommunicable-diseases-and-injuries\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">calling on governments<\/a> to significantly increase taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol, as two new reports reveal that levies remain low across many regions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHealth taxes have been shown to reduce consumption of these harmful products, <strong>helping to prevent disease and reduce the burden on health systems<\/strong>,\u201d\u00a0WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists virtually on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the same time, <strong>they generate an income stream<\/strong> that governments can use to invest in health, education and social protection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are the findings?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Among other findings, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iris.who.int\/items\/6c85c8f8-6ab4-458e-8214-441e524b162a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">report <\/a>on <strong>sugar-sweetened beverage taxes<\/strong> shows that while at least 116 countries tax sugary drinks \u2013 including sodas or carbonated canned drinks \u2013 other high-sugar products, such as 100 per cent fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas, escape taxation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iris.who.int\/items\/a9208039-ee58-49b4-aa0b-cd67c7a65e0a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">report<\/a> on the use of <strong>alcohol taxes<\/strong> shows that although 167 countries levy taxes on liquor, wine and beer, alcohol has become more affordable or remained unchanged in price in most countries since 2022, as taxes don&#8217;t get adjusted for inflation and income growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A cold and sweet pick-me-up from your local coffee shop on a hot day can have detrimental consequences, if consumed regularly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>The increased intake of sugary drinks is associated with:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increased risks of excess weight and obesity<\/li>\n<li>Type 2 diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Cardiovascular disease<\/li>\n<li>Other adverse effects including dental caries and osteoporosis\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Similarly, the negative health impacts of alcohol include:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increasing risks for maternal and child health<\/li>\n<li>Exposure to communicable and noncommunicable diseases<\/li>\n<li>Damage to mental health<\/li>\n<li>Increasing the likelihood of injury to yourself and others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Increasing taxes on harmful beverages leads to fewer people consuming them.<\/p>\n<p>To illustrate the success of this approach, WHO chief Tedros cited multiple examples including that of the UK, which <strong>introduced a tax on sugary drinks in 2018<\/strong>. This led to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reduced sugar consumption\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>A \u00a3338 million revenue increase in 2024 alone<\/li>\n<li>Lower obesity rates in girls aged 10 and 11, especially in deprived communities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>WHO is calling on governments to raise and redesign taxes as part of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/initiatives\/3-by-35\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">new health initiative<\/a> targeting tobacco use and excessive consumption of alcohol and sugary drinks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHO is\u00a0calling on governments to significantly increase taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol, as two new reports reveal&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[18,135,19,17,508],"class_list":{"0":"post-283318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-nutrition"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115891737887685242","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}