Overview

• IMSS director Zoé Robledo said the institute will promote raising the special tax on soft drinks to address chronic diseases, noting heavy health and economic costs including 14,000 diabetes‑related amputations in 2024.
• The soda levy has been about 1.6 pesos per liter since 2014, and recent civil‑society proposals call for roughly 7 pesos; Robledo also met with the Inter‑American Development Bank to advance related health strategies.
• The push follows Health Secretariat findings that sugary drinks are linked to one in three new diabetes cases and one in seven new cardiovascular cases in Mexico.
• Officials report average intake of 166 liters per person annually, that a 600‑milliliter bottle contains about 15 teaspoons of sugar, and that seven in ten children drink soda daily, with four in ten minors overweight or obese.
• Authorities are reinforcing prevention through the Vive feliz, Vive saludable program and warn that diet or zero‑sugar beverages may disrupt gut microbiota and increase risks of heart attack or hemorrhagic stroke.