Islamabad : Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) has expressed serious concern over the increasing consumption of processed juices and their significant impact on public health.
It has come to our attention that certain elements within the juice industry are attempting to mislead policymakers, particularly the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, in an effort to obtain tax relief by portraying juices as healthy products, said General Secretary of PANAH, Sana Ullah Ghumman while talking to the media persons.
He added that Pakistan is already facing a health emergency due to the rising rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, hypertension, and fatty liver disease, which are placing enormous financial pressure on families and the national healthcare system. “At a time when the country is struggling with escalating healthcare costs, weakening health taxes on juices or other sweetened beverages would be a step in the wrong direction,” he said.
The government must continue strengthening health taxes and increase the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on all sweetened beverages, including fruit juices, to 40 per cent in the Finance Bill 2026–27, he suggested.
Renowned diabetologist Professor Dr. Shakeel Ahmed Mirza emphasized that the WHO’s 2015 Guideline on Free Sugars Intake, reaffirmed through its advisory documents in 2023, is unequivocal: the term “free sugars” explicitly includes not only sugars added during manufacturing, but also “sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices, and fruit juice concentrates.” The WHO recommends reducing free sugar intake to less than 10% of total daily energy intake, and preferably below 5%, for both adults and children, when the source is liquid like beverages or juices. Fruit juices — regardless of whether manufacturers add sugar — are a significant source of free sugars and fall squarely within the category of products whose consumption the WHO recommends limiting, he said.
Commissioner, Asia Pacific Region – Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases, Professor Dr. Nusrat Ara Majeed warned that providing any tax relief on packaged juices also risks misleading consumers. Such policy concessions may be interpreted as a government endorsement that these products are healthy or safe for frequent consumption. This perception would contradict scientific evidence and public health recommendations, potentially increasing the consumption of ultra-processed beverages under the mistaken belief that they are beneficial to health, she said. She added that the WHO recommends eating whole fruits and vegetables as a healthy diet instead of drinking fruit juices.
