Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) should increase taxes on drinking alcohol and sugary drinksThe UN health agency said this on Tuesday after publishing data on these financial measures and a guide with recommendations for governments in this regard.

According to these data, although 108 countries levy taxes on sugary drinks and 148 on alcohol.These are not enough measures to encourage healthier behavior, stresses the WHO, which recalls that alcohol consumption causes 2.6 million deaths a year, and unhealthy diets kill 8 million.

For example, WHO considers that the average tax rate on sugary drinks is insufficient and amounts to 6.6%, or regrets that in 22 countries, mainly European, wine is not included in the alcohol tax.

“Taxing unhealthy foods will lead to healthier populations and will have a positive impact on society in the form of fewer diseases and more income so governments can provide public services,” commented Rüdiger Krech, WHO director for health promotion. .

Moreover, in the case of alcohol, taxation may be increased. reduce violence and traffic accidents– the expert added.

As an example of a country that is promoting these measures, the WHO cited Lithuania, where revenue from taxes on alcoholic beverages rose from 234 to 323 million euros between 2016 and 2018, when the number of deaths associated with this consumption fell. from 23.4 to 18.1 per 100,000 people.