The UN health agency recently released two new global reports, warning that “weak tax systems allow harmful products to remain cheap, while healthcare systems face increasing financial pressure from preventable, non-communicable diseases and injuries.” The combined global market for sugary drinks and alcoholic drinks generates billions of dollars in profits, driving widespread consumption and corporate profits, the report said. Yet governments capture only a relatively small share of this value through health-related taxes, leaving societies to bear long-term health and economic costs, the report added.
The reports show that at least 116 countries tax sugary drinks, mainly soft drinks. But many other products with a high sugar content, such as 100 percent fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks and ready-to-drink coffee and tea, escape tax. A separate WHO report shows that at least 167 countries tax alcoholic beverages, while 12 countries ban alcohol completely. Despite this, alcohol has become more affordable or priced unchanged in most countries since 2022, as taxes have not kept pace with inflation and income growth, the report said. Wine remains untaxed in at least 25 countries, mainly in Europe, despite clear health risks.
The WHO called on countries to increase and redesign taxes as part of its new ‘3 by 35’ initiative, which aims to raise 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.
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Published on January 26, 2026
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