Geneva [Switzerland], July 4: AFP reported on July 3 that the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries to increase the prices of tobacco, alcohol and soft drinks by at least 50% by 2035, to increase tax revenue for the state budget and help reduce the rate of chronic diseases.
WHO says high consumption of these products is contributing to the rise of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The organization says non-communicable diseases account for more than 75% of all deaths worldwide, with tobacco alone causing more than 7 million deaths each year.
In a statement on July 2, WHO said that the tax increase would generate an additional $1,000 billion in global public revenue over the next 10 years. In addition, WHO cited a recent report that suggested that by increasing the price of tobacco, alcohol and soft drinks by 50%, the world could prevent 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
