Thailand has strengthened measures to reduce sugar consumption

The Thai government is intensifying measures aimed at reducing sugar consumption to improve public health. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

According to The Guardian, in February, nine major coffee chains in the country agreed to reduce the sugar content in their beverages by at least half. Statistics show that the average Thai citizen consumes 21 teaspoons of sugar per day.

This is significantly higher than the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit of 6 teaspoons. Sweet drinks, including iced Thai tea, tapioca milk teas, and other types of beverages, contribute to this increase.

Since 2017, Thailand has been gradually implementing a sugar tax on packaged drinks. The final phase of this tax is planned for 2025.

As a result, many manufacturers have modified their recipes to reduce sugar content in order to avoid the high tax. However, this tax does not apply to drinks prepared on-site by cafes and street vendors, which remain the main source of sugar consumption.

The new initiative covers major coffee chains. Some cafes offer customers the option to choose the sweetness level of their drinks: 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%.

According to the new rules, the "100% sweetness" level now contains half the sugar compared to before. This ensures that drinks are not excessively sweet as before, while helping to reduce the population's excessive sugar intake.