Sugary Drinks Duty

With sugary and fizzy drinks being one of the main culprits for tooth decay in children aged between 4 to teenage years, The Children’s Food Campaign is calling for the Government to introduce a duty tax of 20p per litre on sugary drinks. Figures have been published showing the introduction of the 20p duty would save the Health Service in London £39 million over twenty years. The duty could drastically reduce the numbers of children experiencing unneccesary tooth decays brought on by fizzy drinks consumption.

The Campaign claims that money saved will be used to set up a Children’s Health fund which will pay for programmes to help improve children’s health and educational materials to prevent tooth decay in children. Millions of pounds are spent on premature tooth decay in children every year with fizzy drinks being the main source of sugar intake. The tax is hoped to make people stop and think before they buy and begin a routine of better and healthier behaviour.

Academics from University of Liverpool have also confirmed that the tax could:-

* Prevent around 1,100 cases of cancer

* Reduce the number of people who develop diabetes by around 6,300

* Cut strokes and heart disease by 4,300

* Reduce ever growing numbers of child obesity and obesity related diseases

All this in the London area alone, so you can imagine the impact it could have on the whole of the UK. Mexico, France and Hungary have already introduced a sugary drinks tax and are said to be reaping the benefits.

This tax will act as an early intervention tactic for today’s children and future generations and hopefully break relationships that we currently have with high sugar content drinks and snacks.

More information about the campaign can be found at www.childrenshealthfund.org

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