ArmInfo. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan has promised to consider the proposal made by the Armenian parliament member from the ruling Civil Contract faction, Khachatur Sukiasyan, regarding the need to reduce sugar consumption in Armenia.
During the government hour on August 10, Khachatryan responded to a request to consider this issue by mentioning that it had previously discussed by the government. At that time, the Ministry of Finance of Armenia had proposed to introduce certain regulatory rules. However, a number of other issues arose then. Specifically, they revolved around the use of a huge number of sugar substitutes. "And then, from a medical point of view, the question arose whether they really pose lower health risks," Khachatryan noted. According to him, there was a need for the Ministry of Health to study international practices regarding this issue. He stated that discussions had already taken place earlier, during which European best practices were considered. As Khachatryan clarified, during these observations, methods for reducing the use of sugar in food preparations were considered. Though they saw that in some cases it was possible to reduce sugar consumption within the country, the imported goods still contained high levels of sugar.
"Therefore, within the framework of this issue, it is necessary to conduct additional research and pay attention to modern trends, and only then will it be possible to present our perception and proposals regarding the introduction of such regulations," the Deputy Prime Minister explained.
Touching upon approaches, he emphasized the need to use all possible methods for studying this issue, particularly educational and medical ones. This is in order to give a specific assessment and form a certain attitude and preferences among the population regarding further directions for the development of food productivity.
Let us recall that in 2024, the Armenian Ministry of Health signaled that people in the country were abusing sugar, which could lead to numerous risks and diseases. These include weight gain, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular diseases.
