Pakistan has a diabetes rate of 30.8%, which is the highest in the world, to prevent Pakistan from becoming the nation with the largest number of disabled people, the rate of taxes on artificial drinks must be increased to 50%.
This demand was made by various medical associations, health and nutrition experts and people associated with civil society while addressing a conference in Karachi on Wednesday.
The conference regarding the increase in taxes on artificially sweetened beverages was organized by the Diabetic Association of Pakistan and health experts from various walks of life including Pakistan National Heart Association Islamabad, Pakistan Nutrition and Diabetic Society addressed the conference. .
Addressing the conference, the Secretary General of the Diabetic Association of Pakistan, Prof. Abdul Basit, said that the experiences of different countries of the world have proved that not only diabetes and other diseases can be controlled by increasing the tax on artificially sweetened drinks. Rather, the resulting money can be spent on various health projects.
He said that the per capita rate of consumption of artificially sweetened beverages in Pakistan is not only very high, but it is also increasing rapidly. On the other hand, the number of people suffering from diabetes in Pakistan is also increasing very rapidly. Is.
Munoor Hussain, a nutritionist associated with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, said that Pakistan is surrounded by a diabetes storm where more than 33 million adults are suffering from diabetes, 70% of deaths in Pakistan are due to non-communicable diseases. The main causes are diabetes and heart diseases, a major cause of which is obesity and other diseases caused by artificially sweetened beverages.
Pakistan National Heart Association Secretary General Sanaullah Ghamman said that Pakistani policy makers now have to prioritize health issues, an important way to stop the flood of non-communicable diseases in Pakistan is to tax artificially sweetened beverages. As a result, not only will the demand for them decrease among the people, but also enough money will come into the treasury of Pakistan that many new programs in the health sector will be able to be started.
Renowned diabetes specialist Prof. Zaman Sheikh said that companies manufacturing artificially sweetened drinks are a mafia and this mafia is on a mission to destroy the health and lives of our children, youth and women.
Professor Shabin Naz Masood and other speakers also spoke on the occasion and demanded the government to increase the rate of taxes and duty on artificially sweetened beverages to 50%.
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