Health Minister: Higher Taxes to Be Imposed on Sugary Drinks to Improve Malaysians’ Health

A new tax on sweetened drinks has been proposed as part of the “war on sugar” plan. The Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, said this sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax will be rolled out in Budget 2025.

In an interview, he mentioned that following the earlier 10-cent increase in Budget 2024, raising the SSB tax to 50 sen per litre, the consumption of sugary drinks dropped by 9.25% nationwide.

“SSB has successfully cut down public sugar consumption”

This new tax is just another step the ministry is taking in its ongoing efforts to reduce the rising cases of non-communicable diseases in Malaysia, which have been a growing concern due to unhealthy dietary habits and high sugar consumption.

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad went on to explain that statistics show the SSB has successfully reduced public sugar consumption.

With the upcoming SSB hike, they aim to encourage both restaurants and individuals to cut back even further on their sugar usage.

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A grading system for food and drinks will be introduced

The same report revealed that more than half a million Malaysians are dealing with 4 major non-communicable diseases, namely diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and obesity.

According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023, nearly 3.6 million adults, or about 15.6%, are currently diabetic.

The ministry is also planning to introduce a nutri-grade system for food and drinks, which will rate products from A to D based on their sugar content.

“A grade products will have no sugar or artificial sweeteners, B grade products will have small amounts,” he explained.

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