The Department of Health (DoH) on Wednesday is suggesting imposing higher excise taxes on salty food such as processed meat and instant noodles to dissuade the public from eating unhealthy food.

In a statement, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo stressed that eating too much salty food makes one prone to diseases such as hypertension, heart disease — a leading cause of deaths in the Philippines — and kidney conditions.

“It has been found in many countries that when you tax products that are unhealthy, the intake decreases and companies reformulate their products. It’s something the Department of Health is studying,” said Domingo.

Cardiologist and former PhilHealth president Anthony Leachon, on the other hand, revealed that Filipinos on average consume over twice the recommended amount at 11 to 15 grams per day – higher than the recommended daily salt intake of less than five grams by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Start training the kids right now because their brains are still immature,” Leachon said.

Domingo, meantime, explained that if the proposal becomes law, food products with high amounts of salt will be taxed higher to encourage the public to buy healthier options.