Sugary Drink.
In a statement on Tuesday, December 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned that around the world, 2.6 million people pass away each year due to alcohol consumption, and more than eight million due to an unhealthy diet.
The WHO suggested raising taxes on alcohol and sugary drinks to decrease the number of deaths caused by drinking and unhealthy habits.
In fresh information shared on Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that worldwide, taxes on unhealthy items like alcohol and sugary drinks were minimal.
The results emphasized that most countries were not using taxes to encourage healthier habits.
“Half of all countries taxing SSBs are also taxing water, which is not recommended by WHO. Although 108 countries are taxing some sort of sugar-sweetened beverage, globally, on the average excise tax, a tax designated for a specified consumer product, represents just 6.6 per cent of the price of soda.
“At least 148 countries have applied excise taxes to alcoholic beverages at the national level. However, wine is exempted from excise taxes in at least 22 countries, most of which are in the European region.
“Globally, on average, the excise tax share in the price of the most sold brand of beer is 17.2 per cent. For the most sold brand of the most sold spirits type, it is 26.5 per cent,” WHO said.
A study from 2017 found that if taxes raised alcohol prices by 50 percent, it could prevent more than 21 million deaths in 50 years and generate almost $17 trillion in extra income.
This amount is equal to the total government revenue of eight of the world’s biggest economies in one year.
According to WHO Director for Health Promotion, Dr Rűdiger Krech, “Taxing unhealthy products creates healthier populations. It has a positive ripple effect across society – less disease and debilitation and revenue for governments to provide public services. In the case of alcohol, taxes also help prevent violence and road traffic injuries.”