New research: sugary drinks duty a small tax with large effects
A new report by Cancer Research UK concludes that the impact of a sugary drinks tax on obesity rates would be significant. It is predicted that a 20% tax on sugary drinks in the UK would prevent 3.7 million people becoming obese. This would save the NHS £10m a year by 2025.
Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Forum modelled the impact of a tax and calculated a 16% reduction in the number of cans of fizzy drink consumed. They also concluded that a tax would lead to people consuming on average 15 fewer calories per day. This would have a huge impact on the rates of obesity which, according to current trends, are forecast to reach 34% by 2025. Although the tax would not reverse the obesity epidemic, it is thought that it would lead to obesity rates levelling off at the current rate of 29%.
Alison Cox, from Cancer Research UK, said: “The ripple effect of a small tax on sugary drinks is enormous.”
News Coverage: BBC
Published Tuesday 23 February 2016
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