{"id":243606,"date":"2026-01-14T05:15:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/243606\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T05:15:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T05:15:06","slug":"increase-taxes-on-sugary-drinks-and-alcohol-to-save-lives-urges-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/243606\/","title":{"rendered":"Increase taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol to save lives, urges WHO"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHO<\/a> is\u00a0calling 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

\u201cHealth taxes have been shown to reduce consumption of these harmful products, helping to prevent disease and reduce the burden on health systems,\u201d\u00a0WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists virtually on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, they generate an income stream that governments can use to invest in health, education and social protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the findings?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among other findings, the\u00a0report <\/a>on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes 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

The\u00a0report<\/a> on the use of alcohol taxes 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’t get adjusted for inflation and income growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why it matters\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

The increased intake of sugary drinks is associated with:<\/p>\n

Increased risks of excess weight and obesityType 2 diabetesCardiovascular diseaseOther adverse effects including dental caries and osteoporosis\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly, the negative health impacts of alcohol include:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Increasing risks for maternal and child healthExposure to communicable and noncommunicable diseasesDamage to mental healthIncreasing the likelihood of injury to yourself and others<\/p>\n

Increasing taxes on harmful beverages leads to fewer people consuming them.<\/p>\n

To illustrate the success of this approach, WHO chief Tedros cited multiple examples including that of the UK, which introduced a tax on sugary drinks in 2018. This led to:<\/p>\n

Reduced sugar consumption\u00a0A \u00a3338 million revenue increase in 2024 aloneLower obesity rates in girls aged 10 and 11, especially in deprived communities<\/p>\n

WHO is calling on governments to raise and redesign taxes as part of a\u00a0new 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…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[103,61,60,446],"class_list":{"0":"post-243606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}