Thai coffee chains cut default sugar content in coffee and tea drinks in a new health push

Описание: (11 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bangkok - 11 February 2026
1. Various of coffee chain stalls in Thai Parliament serving low sugar drinks at a news conference to announce cuts to sugar content
2. Wide of Thai Health Department Deputy Pakorn Tungkasereerak speaking
3. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Pakorn Tungkasereerak, Thai Health Department Deputy:
"The Department of Health would like to elevate the effort by marking a new standard of sweetness in drinks in Thailand under the initiative 'normal sweet is 50% sweet' in collaboration with the Thai Coffee Association and major brands in the country."
4. Customers entering a coffee chain in the city at lunchtime
5. Servers preparing drinks
6. Various of customers picking up their orders and leaving
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Nattacha Sangjan, customer:
"When I drink coffee or another beverage, I like a no sugar beverage."
8. Wide of Nattacha and her friend Sirinya Kuiklang outside the coffee shop
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sirinya Kuiklang, customer:
"It's (Thai beverages) very sweet to me. Sometimes I feel like if I drink a lot of Thai drinks, it feels so very sweet."
10. Customers leaving with their drinks
STORYLINE:
For many Thais, a meal doesn’t feel complete without an iced coffee or tea so sugary it could pass for dessert.

The government, concerned about the health consequences, wants them to dial it back.

Starting Wednesday, nine major coffee chains across the country have pledged to cut the default sugar content in some of their drinks by half in an initiative led by the government to tackle excessive sugar consumption.

According to the Health Department, Thais consume an average of 21 teaspoons of sugar per day, more than three times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of six teaspoons.

Health officials warn that such high intake increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and other diseases.

Pakorn Tungkasereerak, the department’s deputy, said 2025 data show that about 45% of Thais aged 15 and older are obese, while 10% of the population has diabetes.

A survey by the Bureau of Nutrition found that a 22-ounce (650-milliliter) iced coffee contains an average of nine teaspoons of sugar, while a 10-ounce (300-milliliter) serving of bubble milk tea - an iced milk tea with tapioca pearls known as boba - can contain as much as 12 teaspoons.

Sirinya Kuiklang, an office worker, said she approves of the changes.

She already orders her drinks at just 25% of the standard sugar level, but she is aware that many others consume too much sugar.

"Sometimes I feel like if I drink a lot of Thai drinks, it feels so very sweet," she said.

However, enacting the policy into practice may prove challenging.

Officials have said each brand can apply the initiative as they see fit.

Several brands have said the reduction applies only to certain menu items.

Some customers have expressed confusion in response to social media posts promoting the initiative, asking how to order drinks with the level of sweetness that they prefer.

AP video by Tian Macleod Ji

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