Parliamentary Health Secretary Dr Nausheen Hamid has said that government will discourage sweet drinks through heavy taxes as part of health sector reforms.
She said that sugar-loaded fizzy drinks were a cause of several diseases including high blood pressure and obesity, assuring that the government would take steps to discourage the product.
Addressing the inaugural function of the Public Survey Report on the Negative Impact of Sweet Drinks on Human Health in Pakistan, the parliamentary health secretary said that the government would consider the recommendations of the survey report on the effects of sweet beverages on human health.
She added that diseases such as high blood pressure and obesity were caused by sweet beverages and they would discourage it. She said the survey suggests a tax levy on beverages and spending the income from it on the health sector.
Dr. Hamid said that the health budget in the country was quite low and it could be increased if the tax collected from the levy was spent on the sector.
She informed that some 8,624 people took part in the survey of which 4,226 were males and 4,435 were females.
According to the report, one member of every six families out of 10 suffers from obesity and heart disease while four of every five adults were concerned about obesity.
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