Ministry of Health launches awareness campaign "Beat the Habit Fight Extra Sugar"

As part of Ma’kom" initiative activities, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) today launched the second phase of the media awareness campaign "Beat the Habit Fight Extra Sugar" to raise awareness about the health risks associated with the overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages or any other sweeteners.

The campaign, which will continue from 3 September to 30 November 2019, with a purpose to enhance the interaction with the individuals through all MOHAP’s "Ma’kom" media channels and social media platforms, in a bid to protect them from the commercials and promotional campaigns which attract the people to buy sweetened beverages.

Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al-Rand, Undersecretary of the Ministry’s Health Assistant Sector, Health Centers and Clinics, pointed out that the campaign falls under the national initiative "Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in the Society" which aims to stimulate the individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles, eat healthy food, engage in physical activity, quit smoking and build a healthy society.

He hailed the cabinet resolution in terms of adding the sugar-sweetened beverages or any other sweeteners to the selective tax as of January 2020.

Dr. Fadila Mohamed Sherif, Director of MoHAP’s Health Education & Promotion Department, said: "The campaign "Beat the Habit Fight Extra Sugar" aims at curbing the overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, is part of the Ma’kom" initiative, which aims to promote the awareness of healthy lifestyles by providing the community with the information and skills needed to adopt healthy lifestyles. The initiative also contributes to creating health-friendly environments that enable individuals to adopt and practice healthy behaviors."

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