Public Hearing : Feasibility of Introducing Unhealthy Food and Beverage Taxation to Tackle Overweight and Obesity in Thailand

Introduction Taxation on food and beverage has been regarded as a ‘Good Buy’ intervention, by WHO, to tackle the epidemic of overweight and obesity. International studies confirm that when the price of the unhealthy food and beverages increases, consumption expenditure of these products reduces. However, the applicability, acceptability and social perception on this policy in the Thai context is still unknown. Food taxation is not a new policy in Thailand, but it has been devised for generate more revenue to the government not for health purpose. Objective is to assess the feasibility of food and beverage taxation as an additional intervention to tackle overweight and obesity in Thailand by convening a public hearing.