AFTER cigarettes and alcoholic drinks, the Department of Health (DOH) is now looking at slapping additional taxes for junk foods and sweetened beverages.In a recent press briefing, DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said they want to include junk foods and sweetened beverages as among the products to be subjected to “sin taxes.””We all know the lifestyle risks of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Now, we want to add sweetened beverages and junk foods among those subjected to sin taxes,” said Vergeire.She said including junk foods and sweetened beverages in the products with sin taxes will help address problems on obesity and non-communicable diseases.Vergeire said this is because the obesity rate in the country increased from 21 percent in 2015 to 37 percent by 2018.”We all know that sweetened beverages and junk food can contribute to obesity or overweight, and these are contributing factors to non-communicable diseases,” said the health official.Vergeire also said adding such products to sin tax products will help increase the country’s revenues that can fund the Universal Health Care (UHC) program.She noted how, for the year 2022, around 59 percent or P155 billion of the DOH’s budget are sourced from the sin taxes.”In the coming years, we want to see these sin taxes funding different interventions so that we can provide UHC to everybody,” said Vergeire.In 2012, Republic Act No. 10351 or the Sin Tax Reform Act was signed into law. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)