WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — The World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday urged Caribbean governments to significantly strengthen taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages amid concerns that these products are getting cheaper, due to consistently low tax rates in many countries.

In two new global reports released Tuesday, the WHO is warning that weak tax systems are allowing harmful products to remain cheap while health systems face mounting financial pressure from preventable non-communicable diseases and injuries.

“Health taxes are one of the strongest tools we have for promoting health and preventing disease,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.

“By increasing taxes on products like tobacco, sugary drinks and alcohol, governments can reduce harmful consumption and unlock funds for vital health services,” he added.

The WHO said the combined global market for sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages generates billions of dollars in profit, fuelling widespread consumption and corporate profit. Yet governments capture only a relatively small share of this value through health-motivated taxes, leaving societies to bear the long-term health and economic costs.

The reports show that at least 116 countries tax sugary drinks, many of which are sodas. But many other high-sugar products, such as 100 per cent fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas, escape taxation.

The WHO said that while 97 per cent 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 levy taxes on alcoholic beverages, while 12 ban alcohol entirely.

Despite this, alcohol has become more affordable or remained unchanged in price 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.

“More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries and disease,” warned Dr Etienne Krug, director of WHO’s Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, noting that “while industry profits, the public often carries the health consequences and society the economic costs”.

The WHO found that across regions, tax shares on alcohol remain low with global excise share medians of 14 per cent for beer and 22.5 per cent for spirits; and sugary drink taxes are weak and poorly targeted with the median tax accounting for only about two per cent of the price of a common sugary soda and often applying only to a subset of beverages, missing large parts of the market.

The report found that few countries adjust taxes for inflation, allowing health-harming products to become steadily more affordable.

These trends in tax persist despite a 2022 Gallup Poll finding that the majority of people surveyed supported higher taxes on alcohol and sugary beverages.

“WHO is calling on countries to raise and redesign taxes as part of its new 3 by 35 initiative, which aims to increase 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.”