The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new global initiative aimed at increasing the prices of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% through targeted health taxes by the year 2035.
The global health organisation’s initiative, known as “3 by 35”, is coming as the global health systems continued to face mounting pressure from the rising cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), declining development aid, and surging public debt profiles of many countries globally.
The WHO maintained that health taxes on these harmful products could play a crucial role in reversing the ugly trends.
According to the organisation, the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary beverages is a major driver of the global NCD epidemic, with these chronic conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, responsible for more than 75% of all deaths worldwide.
A recent WHO-backed report estimated that a one-time 50% price increase on these products could prevent up to 50 million premature deaths over the next 50 years, while also generating substantial revenue for countries that can be reinvested in healthcare and other social development programmes.
Speaking on the proposed fiscal initiative, the WHO Assistant Director-General, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Control, Dr Jeremy Farrar, said: “Health taxes are one of the most efficient tools we have. They cut the consumption of harmful products and create revenue that governments can reinvest in health care, education, and social protection. It’s time to act.”
To ensure the successful implementation of its newly launched “3 by 35” Initiative, the WHO has set a target of raising US$1 trillion in additional revenue over the next 10 years through targeted health taxes.
It recalled that between 2012 and 2022, nearly 140 countries increased tobacco taxes, raising the average real price of the product by over 50% and demonstrating that large-scale policy shifts are possible and can deliver meaningful outcomes.
Following the policy measure, countries like Colombia and South Africa have recorded reduced consumption of harmful products, and increased public revenue after implementing health taxes.
Despite the positive impact of the fiscal measure, the WHO noted that many countries continued to offer tax breaks to industries producing these risky products, including tobacco.
The global health organization maintained that in some cases, such long-term investment agreements with the companies had been limiting the affected governments’ ability to raise tobacco taxes and by implication, undermining the global public health goals.
The organization has, therefore, advised countries involved in such deals to review and eliminate such exemptions to strengthen tobacco control efforts and protect population health.
On the way toward self-reliant health systems globally, the WHO observed that many governments were showing interest in transitioning toward more self-reliant, domestically funded health systems and seeking WHO’s guidance on effective fiscal policies.
To ensure the success of the “3 by 35” Initiative, WHO is appealing on national governments, civil society, and development partners to support the campaign and commit to smarter, fairer taxation regime on the affected products.
Experts believe that the WHO’s latest initiative is a critical step toward advancing universal health coverage and accelerating progress toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the years ahead.
