“It is a monumental victory for preventative medicine and the long-term health of the Jamaican people.”

That’s the declaration from the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), as it hailed the government’s plan to introduce taxes on non-alcoholic sweetened beverages.

The MAJ also described the revenue measure, which was proposed in Parliament last Thursday as a historic move to combat the non-communicable disease (NCDs) epidemic, protect the health of children and secure Jamaica’s economic future.

In a statement, the association said that while it empathizes with parents who perceive this tax as a challenge to their children’s lunch money or diet, the mindset towards nutrition must change.

It maintained that sugar-sweetened beverages are not essential components of the diet.

It also said that, while there is little nutritional value in these products, there are numerous adverse consequences to their persistent intake.

The MAJ pointed to the World Health Organisation, which, in July 2025, launched the “3 by 35” initiative, urging countries to raise prices on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by at least 50% by 2035 to boost health and reduce deaths due to NCDs.

It said that, in this context, while the $0.02 per millilitre levy on sugar-sweetened beverages represents a modest start, the broader taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugary drinks align Jamaica with global trends.

The MAJ said that with this move, Jamaica will join 132 other nations that have implemented some form of taxation on sugary beverages.