Chief Medical Officer keeps options open on sugar tax

Responding to Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies’s comments today about a sugar tax, Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign, said:

"We welcome that the Chief Medical Officer has stood firm in the face of industry criticism, and reiterated her belief that introducing some form of tax on unhealthy food and drink might be necessary.  Voluntary measures to tackle obesity haven’t worked. Having a ‘stick’ like a sugary drinks duty should help focus industry’s minds, and increase their incentive to reformulate their products and to change their marketing strategies further and faster than they otherwise would.

A duty on sugary drinks of 20p per litre would be the most practical and effective way of using the tax system to tackle a significant source of unnecessary calories and sugar in our diets. Research published in the British Medical Journal last October modelled consumer behaviour and confirmed that a sugary drinks duty would change purchasing habits - especially amongst young people and those on lower incomes who are most sensitive to price - and lead to a 180,000 reduction in obesity levels.

The most popular swap in this year’s Change4Life Smarts Swaps campaign was from sugary drinks to healthier alternatives.  This shows the public’s appetite for change; with the right help and information. But so many drinks are loaded with added sugar, even those like flavoured waters billed as healthier alternatives.

The Government and the main political parties may not yet be convinced of the need to introduce a sugary drinks duty; but the measure is now backed by over 70 national organisations, including leading medical and children’s charities and trade unions."