WHO calls for higher taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol to save lives, lauds India’s tobacco tax push

The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked governments to raise taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages because weak tax systems are allowing harmful products to remain cheap and cause diseases. As a result, treatment costs are going up for non-communicable diseases and injuries, all of which are preventable.

Releasing two papers, the WHO has called on countries to raise and redesign taxes as part of its new 3 by 35 initiative, which aims to increase prices of three products — tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks — by 2035, making them less affordable over time to help protect people’s health.

“Health taxes are one of the strongest tools we have for promoting health and preventing disease,” WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told media persons during a virtual interaction. Increasing taxes on products like tobacco, sugary drinks and alcohol, he believes, can help governments reduce harmful consumption and unlock funds for vital health services.

He even welcomed India’s initiative on raising taxes on tobacco and related products and said they would support more such countries. From February, pan masala, cigarettes, tobacco and related products will attract a GST of 40 per cent while bidis will attract 18 per cent GST as per a Central government notification.

Dr Shalini Singh, Director, Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research said that the WHO’s global reports on health taxes come at a critical juncture for India, where non-communicable diseases account for over 60% of all deaths. “The WHO finding that sugary drink taxes account for merely two per cent of product prices globally mirrors weak taxation framework for these health-harming products. What is particularly concerning is the impact on children and adolescents. Rising obesity rates among Indian children, fuelled by aggressive marketing of sugary beverages, are contributing to early-onset diabetes and metabolic disorders that increase cancer risk later in life. From a cancer prevention perspective, alcohol consumption is a well-established risk factor for multiple cancers, including oral, oesophageal, liver, colorectal and breast cancers,” she said.

India needs comprehensive taxation reform covering all sugar-sweetened beverages, across all kinds of alcohol and tobacco products, with regular inflation-indexed adjustments to prevent erosion of tax effectiveness. “We need a harmonized GST structure that prioritizes health over revenue considerations, particularly for alcohol where state-level variations create policy inconsistencies,” Dr Singh added.

Sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages are getting cheaper because of consistently low tax rates in most countries, fuelling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers and injuries, especially in children and young adults. The new 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.

A separate WHO report shows that at least 167 countries have levied taxes on alcoholic beverages while 12 have banned alcohol entirely. Despite this, alcohol has become more affordable or its prices have remained unchanged in most countries since 2022 as taxes fail to keep pace with inflation and income growth. Wine remains untaxed in at least 25 countries, mostly in Europe, despite clear health risks.

WHO found that 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 targetted with the median tax accounting for only about 2% of the price of a common sugary soda and often applying only to a subset of beverages, missing large parts of the market. Few countries adjust taxes for inflation, allowing health-harming products to become more affordable.