On 14 June 2024, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published new guidelines on fiscal policies aimed at creating food environments that make it easier for consumers to make healthy dietary decisions. (1)
These guidelines recommend fiscal measures that discourage the consumption of unhealthy foods and instead promote access to healthy foods through subsidies and other incentives.
Today’s food environment and health challenges
Most people live in an environment where ultra-processed foods, high in fat, sugar and sodium, are readily available and often cheap. These products are widely marketed, making it difficult for consumers to make healthy food choices. (3)
Unhealthy diets pose a major risk to global public health, contributing to the onset of non-communicable diseases (known as NDCs) such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. The consumption of ultra-processed foods is also associated with an increased risk of dementia. (4)
Scientific studies supporting tax policies
The WHO guidelines are based on recent studies showing the effectiveness of taxes on unhealthy foods, such as sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), in reducing demand and consumption. (5,6)
Useful measures, but still ignored in some countries, Italy in primis, where the umpteenth postponement of the sugar tax was granted to lobbyists, as we have seen. (7)
Subsidies for healthy foodstuffs, such as fruit and vegetables, on the contrary, increase their accessibility and convenience, thus incentivising their consumption. This promising approach facilitates better food choices, making the healthy choice also the easy one.
Expert statements
‘Fiscal policies, including taxes and subsidies, can significantly influence consumer and market behaviour by acting on prices and product affordability.
Subsidies can incentivise the consumption of healthy products, while taxes can discourage the consumption of unhealthy products and stimulate industry to reformulate its products’, emphasises Ruediger Krech, director of WHO’s Health Promotion Department.
Government action and the importance of guidelines
Governments play a crucial role in reducing the burden of nutrition-related NCDs by addressing malnutrition in all its forms and promoting healthy diets.
An increasing number of countries are taking fiscal measures to promote healthy diets. As of February 2024, 115 Member States will tax sugary drinks nationwide, while another 41 have implemented taxes on various categories of unhealthy foods. In this respect, see the virtuous example of Colombia. (8)
Despite this progress, fewer countries have adopted subsidies to encourage the consumption of healthy foods or have removed taxes on them.
‘Governments around the world are beginning to take action, in particular by taxing sugary drinks.
These guidelines will be a valuable tool for creating more health-promoting food environments at all levels’, says Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety.
Conclusions
The WHO guidelines offer evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of fiscal policies aimed at promoting healthy diets. This represents a fundamental step in an integrated and synergistic approach to improve the health of the global population.
Dario Dongo
Note
(1) World Health Organization. Fiscal policies to promote healthy diets: WHO guideline. 14.6.24. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240091016
(2) HLPE, Nutrition and Food Systems, report of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security. 2017. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/4ac1286e-eef3-4f1d-b5bd-d92f5d1ce738/content
(3) World Health Organization. Implementing fiscal and pricing policies to promote healthy diets: a review of contextual factors. 2021. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240035027
(4) Marta Strinati. Higher dementia risk for those consuming ultraprocessed foods. The study. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 2.8.22
(5) Tatiana Andreyeva, Keith Marple, Samanta Marinello, et al. Outcomes Following Taxation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Network Open. June 2022. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2792842
(6) Tatiana Andreyeva, Keith Marple, Timothy E. Moore TE, et al. Evaluation of Economic and Health Outcomes Associated With Food Taxes and Subsidies. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2022. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2792845
(7) Marta Strinati. Sugar tax and plastic tax, Italian-style delays and discounts. Short-sightedness at a high cost. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.5.24
(8) Marta Strinati. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). Colombia, al via la tassa sugli alimenti ultraprocessati. 9.11.23
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
