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Obesity currently costs the NHS £5.1 billion per year which is projected to rise to £9.7 billion by 2050, with wider costs to society estimated to reach £49.9 billion per year. Today’s children and teenagers are consuming three times the recommended level of sugar (adults fare almost as badly). “In particular,” the NHS says on its website, “drinking lots of sugary drinks has been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.”
Our kids might seem fine on the outside, but too much sugar can cause tooth decay and lead to the build up of harmful fat on the inside that we can’t see. Around 30% of the sugar in kids’ diets comes from sugary drinks, such as fizzy pop, juice drinks, squashes, cordials, energy drinks and juice. Some other illneses associated with too much sugar intake includes: Weight gain Heart disease Some cancers
Health Problems One in Ten children in England are obese
36 g 27 g
25.8 g
Sugar Levels 15 g
Exempt rate: Drinks with 5g sugar per 100ml or less Lower rate: Drinks with 5-8g sugar per 100ml Higher rate: Drinks with 8g+ sugar per 100ml
Drinks which will be exempt from the levy include: Standard lemonade Lucozade Sport Vimto Pure fruit juice Drinks in the lower rate include: Coke Life Fanta Orange Normal tonic water Those products facing the highest charge include: Regular Coke Red Bull Strawberry Ribena The government is giving producers time to take action before the tax begins, and consulting on some of the detail of the levy. The government will set out detailed legislation in the Finance Bill 2017, with implementation expected from April 2018 onwards. This gives producers time to reformulate their products, so they won’t have to pay the levy.
Chef Jamie Oliver and other expert health campaigners have highlighted the problem of childhood obesity in the UK. In fact, over 60 public health organisations have called for a tax on sugary drinks. This includes Public Health England, The British Medical Association and the Royal Society for Public Health. Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England, has said that reformulation and resizing are the key wins for tackling obesity. The money raised by Jamie’s in-restaurant sugar levy will directly fund food education for children and similar health initiatives. This Children’s Health Fund, as we’ve named it, will be supported and administered by the charity Sustain. Formed in 1999, Sustain is the alliance for better food and farming.
Where is the tax going ...
n England, the new levy revenue will be invested in giving school-aged children a brighter and healthier future, including programmes to encourage physical activity and balanced diets. For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Barnett formula will be applied to spending on these new initiatives in the normal way. The estimated £520m raised will be put towards boosting primary school sports.
The pursuit of better child health is the reason I do what I do. I’ve had time to reflect on the Childhood Obesity Strategy, and I’m fully aware that the conversation around child health, obesity and diet-related disease is starting to sound like a broken record. This means a standard can of Coca-Cola - costing around 70 pence – would have an 8 pence tax placed on it, while a can of Sprite would have an additional levy of 6 pence, when the sugar tax is introduced in 2018. Pure fruit juices and milk-based drinks will not be included, but with some brands of tonic water affected the tax could have an impact on the nation’s enjoyment of G&T.
A public consultation is being run over the summer on the detail of the levy. This will include working with industry and health experts and consulting on a wide range of technical details such as how best to exclude certain drinks, and how to protect the smallest producers.