Govt urged to impose tax on sugary beverages

Islamabad: Civil Society Alliance (CSA) has called upon the government to impose taxes to protect children from the dangers of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB).

They demanded this in a meeting of Civil Society Alliance jointly organized by Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH), National Commission on the Rights of the Child (NCRC) and Child Rights Movement (CRM) on Thursday.

General Secretary (PANAH) Sana Ullah Ghumman, Chairperson, NCRC Afshan Tehseen Bajwa, and National Coordinator, CRM Zahra Naqvi hosted the event. Consultant Food Policy Program (GHAI) Munawar Hussain, Squadron Leader Ghulam Abbas, political, social, medical, legal experts, and journalists attended the event.

The speakers emphasized the fact that excessive consumption of Sugar sweetened Beverages (SSB) in children has been linked to a number of dangerous diseases, including obesity, heart disease and cancer.

Sana Ullah Ghumman, General Secretary of PANAH, said that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the biggest cause of health burden in the world and children are the ones who are most affected by it.