GENEVA: An independent panel advising the World Health Organization (WHO) stopped short of recommending taxing sugary drinks to reduce obesity on Friday after failing to reach a consensus.
Some countries, such as Mexico, France and Britain, are already taxing sugary drinks and the WHO made a non-binding recommendation in October 2016 that governments should impose a 20 per cent tax.
While this was called “discriminatory” and “unproven” by the industry, activists had hoped for a strong endorsement from the panel, which includes heads of states and health ministers.
The panel on Friday called on governments to increase efforts to fight an explosive epidemic of non-communicable diseases in low and middle income countries which account for 71 per cent of all deaths globally, or 41 million deaths a year.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus established the WHO Independent High-Level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases last year to provide advice on how to reduce premature deaths from such diseases by one-third by 2030.To achieve progress, “governments should work with: food and non-alcoholic beverage companies in areas such as reformulation, labelling, and regulating marketing”, its report, which goes to a United Nations summit in September, said.
The commission made six recommendations in its report, including for government heads to take responsibility for disease reduction and to increase regulation.
— AFP
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