Why in news?
In January 2026, WHO released reports highlighting how declining real prices of sugary drinks and alcohol fuel obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and injuries due to weak taxation in most countries. The organization calls for stronger taxes, praising examples like India's tobacco tax hikes while noting global policy gaps.
About
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes health taxes—levies on harmful products like tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks—as a way to save lives, reduce chronic diseases, and generate revenue for public health. In July 2025, WHO launched the “3 by 35” Initiative, urging countries to raise the real prices of these products by at least 50% by 2035.
Key facts
- Taxes on products with negative health impacts (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages).
- Purpose: Reduce consumption, prevent disease, and mobilize revenue.
- WHO’s View: They are “win-win-win policies”—saving lives, advancing health equity, and funding health systems.
WHO’s “3 by 35” Initiative (2025)
- Goal: Raise real prices of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by ≥50% by 2035.
- Rationale:
- Combat rising noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
- Offset shrinking development aid and growing public debt.
- Strengthen universal health coverage (UHC) funding.
Why It Matters for India?
Given India’s high burden of NCDs and widespread consumption of tobacco and sugary drinks, adopting WHO’s health tax recommendations could:
- Save millions of lives.
- Provide new funding streams for public health programs.
- Support India’s push toward Ayushman Bharat and universal health coverage.
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