WHO calls for a 50% tax increase on alcohol, sugar, and tobacco by 2035

The World Health Organization is once again stressing the need to take action to discourage the consumption of alcohol, sugary drinks, and tobacco. An effective tool—one capable of preventing millions of preventable diseases and strengthening public health systems—could be to significantly increase taxes on these products.

The WHO Director-General reaffirmed this message by once again emphasizing the need to increase the real prices of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 through specific health taxes.

According to the WHO, alcohol, sugary drinks, and tobacco are still too cheap in many countries, partly due to weak or nonexistent tax policies. In some cases, prices have even fallen over time, making these products increasingly accessible, particularly to young people.

The result, according to experts, is a rise in cases of type 2 diabetes, an increase in obesity and overweight rates, more cardiovascular diseases, and more cancers. These noncommunicable diseases now account for more than 75% of deaths worldwide and are placing a strain on already struggling health care systems.

The WHO is unequivocal: raising taxes reduces consumption. This is not an ideological assumption, but a conclusion based on decades of scientific data.

Higher prices reduce the purchase of harmful products, deter young people from starting to consume them, and also generate greater government revenue that can be reinvested in health, prevention, and social services.

It is precisely for this reason that the WHO emphasizes the need for well-designed taxes that account for inflation and are not eroded over time.

The goal of a 50% increase by 2035 had been formalized in July 2025, but in 2026 the WHO is once again strongly advocating for it, linking it to an even more critical context.

Cuts in international aid, rising public debt, and strained health systems make health taxes a key tool for countries’ self-sufficiency, as the Director-General emphasized.

According to WHO estimates, a one-time 50% increase in the prices of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks could prevent up to 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years and help mobilize up to $1 trillion to be allocated to public health and development.

The WHO also cites concrete examples: in 2025, countries such as Malaysia, Mauritius, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam introduced or increased taxes on these products; in early 2026, India implemented a new excise tax on tobacco, and Saudi Arabia introduced a tiered tax on sugary drinks.

The World Health Organization’s message is clear: taking action on prices is a political choice, not merely a technical measure. Diseases linked to tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks are not inevitable. Rapidly reducing their prevalence is possible, and according to the WHO, health taxes remain the most effective and immediate way to achieve this.