In a huge blow to the global drinks industry, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for increased taxes on alcoholic beverages, particularly targeting wine, which is exempted from 22 countries, especially in Europe.
The health agency under United Nations on December 5 issued a statement urging countriees to increase taxes on what it labels as “unhealthy products” including alcohol and ugary sweetened beverages (SSBs).
According to WHO, alcoholic beverage is estimated to have caused 2.6 million deaths globally per year.
It also singled out wine as a main alcoholic beverage expempted from excise taxes mainly in Europe, home to the world’s biggest wine producers and main wine consumption markets too.
While big wine producing countries such as Italy and France taxes next to none in excise tax, countries like the UK impose 30.11% excise tax on still wines.
According to WHO, at least 148 countries have applied excise taxes to alcoholic beverages at the national level. “However, wine is exempted from excise taxes in at least 22 countries, most of which are in the European Region”, it says.
Globally, on average, the excise tax share in the price of the most sold brand of beer is 17.2%, while for the most sold brand of the most sold spirits type, it is 26.5%, according to the organization.
“A pressing concern is that alcoholic beverages have, over time, consistently become more affordable in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries,” says Dr. Ailan Li, Assistant Director-General Health Promotion Department. “But increasing affordability can be curbed using well-designed alcohol tax and pricing policies that result in an increase in the prices of alcoholic beverages.”
Citing a 2017 study, WHO claims that taxes that increase alcohol prices by 50% would help avert over 21 million deaths over 50 years and generate nearly US$17 trillion in additional revenues.
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