Salty products may be taxed next

After taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, the government may soon impose a tax on salty products, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Tuesday.

The health official cited a United Nations report which showed that salty diets can lead to hypertension and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that cost the economy an estimated P756 billion annually.

“We have seen the positive effects of increasing taxes on sin products. The same strategy might work for excessive consumption of salt… It might be the most effective way to go,” Duque told reporters at the presentation of the NCDs investment case report.

The government last year imposed higher taxes on sugary drinks not only to generate revenues, but also to address public health concerns like obesity and diabetes.

The National Kidney Transplant Institute estimates that every hour, a Filipino develops chronic renal failure which could have been prevented through a healthy diet, drinking plenty of water and avoiding excessive salt.

Alexey Kulikov of the UN Interagency on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, said diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and chronic respiratory diseases caused 68 percent of all deaths in the Philippines.