A 20% tax on sugary drinks would help reduce obesity rates by 5% over the next decade, according to a new report published today.
Short and sweet: why the Government should introduce a sugary drinks tax, published by Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Forum, said the tax would help prevent 3.7 million cases of obesity by 2025. This would save the NHS £10m in healthcare and social care costs over this time period, the study concluded.
Jane Landon, UK Health Forum’s deputy chief executive, said: ‘Countries which have introduced a tax on sugary drinks have not only reduced consumption, they have raised much-needed revenues for public health measures.
‘These figures indicate that even a modest tax at 20 per cent – as part of a society-wide response - could help to deliver the scale and pace of change needed to turn around the UK’s crisis of obesity-related ill-health.’
Cancer Research UK is calling for the Government to implement a tax on sugary drinks immediately, as well as introducing targets for reducing the amount of fat and sugar in food and banning adverts for junk food on TV before 9pm.
