Increased Taxation Should Curb Rising Alcohol And Cannabis Misuse— Prominent Experts Argue
Increased Taxation Should Curb Rising Alcohol And Cannabis Misuse— Prominent Experts Argue:
Perhaps like never before, the challenge of drug abuse in Kenya has continued to get exacerbated due to several factors such as easy availability of the drugs, poor policing of anti-drug measure and idleness among people and especially youths owing to grave and high underemployment and unemployment rates. Other factors blamed for this menace include high frustration levels that lead to people using drugs as an escape and low and limited counseling services due to several other factors.
Today, moreover, smoking of cannabis among many people and especially young ones has become commonplace and it is smoked often openly even in public areas; there have emerged also various reports about the health benefits of medicinal cannabis. Illicit and counterfeit alcoholic beverages have also become easily and readily available in small quantities sold at prices that many people consider affordable. This scenario has led to high addition levels and even deaths from consumption of the illicit alcoholic beverages.
Consequently, a report released in Nairobi, Kenya on July 4th, 2025 could be welcome news especially to relatives and friends of the people suffering under the bondage of drug addiction. According to the report, a global team of researchers is proposing the introduction of a global minimum tax rate of 70 per cent on alcohol and cannabis products and a ban on their advertising and sponsorship to regulate the rising misuse.
Led by the Aga Khan University’s Brain and Mind Institute and the Global Brain Health Institute, the researchers also want the introduction of a “harm-to-others” tax on cannabis to reflect the broader social and health impacts of cannabis.
The proposals are contained in a proposed international treaty to regulate the rising misuse of alcohol and cannabis, this echoing the success of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Published in Nature Medicine, the commentary highlights alarming increases in alcohol and cannabis consumption worldwide, particularly among young people, and the resulting surge in brain-related health issues, including cognitive decline and dementia.
“We are seeing a silent epidemic,” explains Cyprian Mostert, lead author and Brain Health Economist at the Aga Khan University’s Brain and Mind Institute. “Alcohol and cannabis are now the most widely used psychoactive substances after tobacco, and their impact on brain health is being dangerously underestimated, especially in low- and middle-income countries where public health infrastructure is already strained,” Mostert affirms.
The proposed WHO-led treaty would also include Support prevention, treatment and research programs, especially in underserved regions such as Africa among others.
The article highlights and explains that global alcohol consumption is projected to rise by 25 per cent by 2030. Meanwhile, cannabis use is soaring, with daily users exceeding 200 million (M) globally this notwithstanding the reality of and fact that excessive use of either substance, and especially in combination, accelerates brain aging and increases the risk of dementia.
The authors argue that the WHO should urgently convene member states to draft a global treaty, modeled on the FCTC, which contributed to a 25 per cent global reduction in tobacco smoking since its adoption in 2003.
“Taxation is not just about revenue, it’s one of the most powerful levers we have to reduce harmful consumption,” avers Professor Zul Merali, Director of the AKU’s Brain and Mind Institute.
“We now have strong evidence that progressive taxes directly reduce alcohol-related brain disorders,” Prof Merali affirms.
In an article co-authored by experts from the Aga Khan University’s Brain and Mind Institute, Global Brain Health Institute, Wake Forest University and Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, and with affiliations across Kenya, Ireland, Chile and the USA, the researchers also emphasize the importance of aligning global policies on cannabis as more countries move toward its legalization. They aver that without a harmonized approach, the world risks repeating the mistakes made with tobacco and alcohol regulation decades ago. {Ends}.
