Sugar is the new tobacco

Kuwait’s Ministry of Health is considering whether it should ask the government to increase taxes on tobacco products and cancel subsidized sugar from the monthly rations of its citizens, according to a Kuwait News Agency report quoting the ministry’s undersecretary, Khaled Al-Sahlawi.

The proposed moves would be aimed at reducing the incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Al-Sahlawi said the ministry was considering a number of ideas, one of which would be to end the government’s subsidy on sugar while providing people with a healthier alternative.

“These ideas also include increasing tax on tobacco products to reduce smoking as Kuwait has one of the world’s lowest tobacco tax rates,” he said.