Britain launches sugar tax on soft drinks in bid to reduce obesity among children
Government wants the industry to work towards a 20 per cent cut in products popular with children, with 5 per cent in the first year
Britain on Thursday said it would tax companies which sell sugary soft drinks and invest that money in health programmes for school children, part of a long-awaited strategy to curb childhood obesity that critics say is too weak.
Drinks companies were also angered by the plan which urges industry to cut sugar in products aimed at children, saying nearly a third of those aged two to 15 are already overweight or obese.
In a statement announcing details of the strategy, which has been in the works for several years, junior minister Jane Ellison obesity was costing Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) billions of pounds every year.
Campaigners and health experts, however, said the plan was weak. Graham MacGregor, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and chairman of the Action on Sugar campaign group, said it was “an insulting response” to Britain’s obesity and diabetes crisis which “will bankrupt the NHS unless something radical is done”.
In opting for a sugar tax, Britain joins Belgium, France, Hungary and Mexico, all of which have imposed some form of tax on drinks with added sugar. Scandinavian countries have levied similar taxes for many years.
Britain’s plans will see a levy applied to drinks with a total sugar content above 5 grams per 100 ml, with a higher band for even more sugary drinks.