WHO: They urge a 50 percent price increase for tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 07. 03. 13:05

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the prices of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages and sugary soft drinks to be increased by at least 50 percent over the next ten years to improve public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. The proposal was announced on the closing day of the UN Conference on Financing for Development in Seville in early July.

According to the WHO, these goods are proven to play a major role in the development of non-communicable, chronic diseases such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes and obesity, so raising the prices of these goods could significantly reduce their consumption.

“The introduction of health taxes is one of the most effective tools we have,”

said Jeremy Farrar, WHO’s expert on disease prevention. The organization has supported taxing cigarette products for decades, and has recently been increasingly urging intervention in the case of alcoholic beverages and sugary soft drinks. For the first time, a specific target of 50 percent has been set for the increase.

Taxes help prepare for health challenges

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that governments can use the tax revenue to strengthen their health systems and respond more effectively to social changes and new challenges. According to economist Guillermo Sandoval, a tax increase in a middle-income country could mean that a product that costs $4 today could cost up to $10 in 2035.

According to WHO’s experience, raising prices has already worked in the case of cigarettes: between 2012 and 2022, 140 countries raised taxes, prices increased by an average of 50 percent, and smoking prevalence decreased in several places. The organization is now examining whether to extend its recommendation to increase taxes to ultra-processed foods.