Health Taxes Offer ‘Triple Win’ But Face Industry Pushback, WHO, NCD Alliance Warn
As governments search for sustainable ways to fund health systems amid shrinking donor support, new evidence from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reignited a global debate: taxing unhealthy products saves lives, raises revenue, and cuts long-term costs, yet political resistance remains strong.
Reacting to two new WHO reports on alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes launched at a virtual event co-hosted by WHO and the NCD Alliance, Alison Cox, Policy and Advocacy Director at the NCD Alliance, described health taxes as a proven “triple win” for better health outcomes, stronger public finances, and reduced long-term costs.
According to Cox, the resistance witnessed during negotiations of the 2025 UN Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) reflects the enduring influence of health-harming industries, including tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drink producers.
She noted that arguments framed around “national sovereignty” were frequently deployed to weaken commitments on health taxes.
“These sovereignty arguments can act as dog-whistle language,” Cox said, stressing that well-designed health taxes actually strengthen national autonomy by giving countries greater capacity to respond to domestic health and fiscal challenges on their own terms.
The newly released WHO report on sugar-sweetened beverage taxation paints a mixed global picture.
As of July 2024, at least 116 countries had introduced excise taxes on SSBs, spanning all WHO regions.
The report however, reveals that most of these taxes are too low or poorly designed to significantly reduce consumption or improve public health.
Globally, the median excise tax share on sugary drinks is just 2.4 per cent, with total taxes accounting for 17.8 per cent of retail prices, far below levels considered effective.
In many countries, healthier alternatives such as bottled water are still taxed, while high-sugar products like fruit juices, sweetened teas, and milk-based drinks escape excise duties.
The report also highlights that fewer than one in four countries tax beverages based on sugar content, a policy approach proven to encourage product reformulation and healthier consumer choices.
Even more striking, only 10 countries earmark revenue from SSB taxes specifically for health programmes, despite growing evidence that such earmarking boosts public support and strengthens universal health coverage.
Cox warned that evidence alone will not drive change.
“Health taxes sit at the crossroads of finance, trade, agriculture and industry, where competing interests often sideline health,” she said, adding that the dilution of clear tax targets in the UN Political Declaration underscores this challenge.
Still, she expressed optimism, pointing to initiatives such as the WHO’s 3×35 campaign, which urges countries to increase taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks by at least 50 per cent by 2035.
With global commitments set, she argued, the real battle will be fought at the national level, where political leadership can turn data into decisive action.
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