On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first-ever global tax manual for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). And the world body urged countries to introduce or increase taxes on those items to save lives. 'Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages can be a powerful tool to promote health,' Director of Health Promotion at WHO, Dr. Ruediger Krech, noted. Krech explained that the taxes save lives and prevent disease while advancing health equity and mobilising revenue for countries to realize universal health coverage. Currently, at least 85 countries implement some SBB taxation. And according to WHO, SSB, tobacco and alcohol taxes have proven
