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Sweet Surprise by Aster raises awareness on hidden sugar as UAE’s new levy takes effect
The campaign aims to educate communities on hidden sugar consumption and encourage early diabetes screening
- PUBLISHED: Fri 20 Feb 2026, 11:37 AM
As the UAE takes a decisive step towards improving public health with the introduction of its new tiered sugar tax, effective January 1, 2026, Aster Clinics UAE — a leading integrated healthcare provider under Aster DM Healthcare in the GCC, has launched the Aster Diabetes 360 Care Clinic at Aster Clinic, Al Qusais (Damascus Street), alongside an impactful public awareness initiative titled ‘Sweet Surprise by Aster’. The campaign aims to educate communities on hidden sugar consumption and encourage early diabetes screening, aligning closely with the nation’s efforts to curb the rising rates of obesity and diabetes.
The launch of the Aster Diabetes 360 Care Clinic aligns with the Dubai 10X initiative under the Dubai Future Foundation, which champions a future-ready healthcare model focused on early disease detection and prevention. Similar to Dubai 10X’s Early Disease Detection System for diabetes, designed to leverage data, AI, and proactive screening to identify risks before symptoms appear, Aster’s integrated care approach shifts the focus from reactive treatment to early intervention, long-term prevention, and sustainable health outcomes.
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Also, the newly implemented sugar tax replaces the earlier flat excise duty with a volumetric system that taxes sweetened beverages based on sugar content per 100ml, incentivising manufacturers and consumers to opt for lower-sugar alternatives. With diabetes and prediabetes affecting nearly one in three adults in the UAE, and 27.3 per cent of adults consuming more sugar than recommended — over a quarter of whom drink sugar-sweetened beverages daily, Aster’s initiative seeks to turn awareness into meaningful action.
The average resident consumes far more sugar than recommended by the World Health Organisation, which advises that free sugars should be less than 10 per cent of total daily energy intake (roughly 25–50 g/day for adults).
