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.