UK health campaigners celebrate Irish Budget announcement of a sugary drinks tax

• Major boost for global sugar reduction and children’s health on World Obesity Day
• Soft drinks industry continues their quest to thwart Government obesity policies on both sides of the Irish Sea

Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator, Children’s Food Campaign said:

“This is a double win for children’s health on World Obesity Day.  A sugary drinks tax will help reduce consumption of a major source of sugar in Irish children’s diets, The announcement is also likely to have a positive ripple effect here in the UK and across the world, strengthening international resolve to protect children from unhealthy products and marketing.”

“Coca Cola and other soft drinks companies are spending many millions of pounds globally trying to prevent governments from implementing popular and evidence-based measures, such as sugary drinks taxes.  Even today, on World Obesity Day, the British Soft Drinks Association was lobbying the UK Treasury and MPs trying to block this core policy of the Government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy.”

“This announcement by Ireland – alongside the World Health Organisation’s backing today for taxes and other fiscal policies to be used to tackle obesity – should give further confidence to the UK Chancellor Phillip Hammond and his colleagues that the UK Government has taken the right approach.  We look forward to the Treasury implementing the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in full by 2018 as planned, with no additional delays or concessions to an industry lobby that is fighting for its short-term interests over children’s health and the long-term cost to the NHS.”

For interviews, and for further information, please contact:

Malcolm Clark, coordinator, Children’s Food Campaign
malcolm@sustainweb.org.uk / 0773332148 / 0203 5596 777 / @childrensfood

ENDS

Notes

1. Children’s Food Campaign aims to improve children and young people's health by campaigning for policy changes in our schools, in our communities and throughout our society that would promote healthy and sustainable food environments. The Children's Food Campaign is supported by over 100 UK-wide and national organisations, including public health professional bodies, trade unions, school food experts, children’s charities and environmental groups. We are a campaign of the charity Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.
   www.childrensfood.org.uk
2. Irish Budget announcement 11 October 2016 of a sugar-sweetened beverages tax and launch of a public consultation on its implementation:
   http://www.budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2017/Documents/Sugar-Sweetened_Drinks_Tax_Public_Consultation_final.pdf
3. World Obesity Day 11 October 2016 – organised by the World Obesity Federation http://www.obesityday.worldobesity.org/
4. Is sugar the new tobacco? The industry’s lobbying tactics suggest so – article on Left Foot Forward blog
   https://leftfootforward.org/2016/09/is-sugar-the-new-tobacco-the-industrys-lobbying-tactics-suggest-so/
5. Soda Industry Spent $67 Million Opposing State, City Soda Taxes & Warning Labels
   https://cspinet.org/news/soda-industry-spent-67-million-opposing-state-city-soda-taxes-warning-labels-20160921
6. Irish Beverage Council opposition to sugary drinks tax
   http://www.thejournal.ie/sugar-tax-2-3020822-Oct2016/
7. British Soft Drinks Association Tax the Can lobby – with senior Coca Cola executive participating –  outside HM Treasury and at Parliament today
   https://twitter.com/BritSoftDrinks/status/785779876825600000
   https://twitter.com/BritSoftDrinks/status/785803398851375104
8. World Health Organisation (WHO) urges global action to curtail consumption and health impacts of sugary drinks http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/curtail-sugary-drinks/en/
9. Obesity Health Alliance - The Children's Food Campaign is also a member of the Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) - a coalition of over 30 organisations committed to share expertise and support Government to tackle the issue of overweight and obesity in the UK. http://obesityhealthalliance.org.uk
10. A new scientific study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity predicts that by 2025, without policy interventions such as sugar taxes, an estimated 268 million children aged 5-17 years may be overweight, including 91 million obese, with high rates of obesity-related health problems, including impaired glucose tolerance (12 million), type 2 diabetes (4 million), hypertension (27 million) and hepatic steatosis (38 million). The same study predicts that by 2025, the UK will rank 15^th in the world for high prevalence of children being overweight, and predicts that childhood type 2 diabetes could rise to as many as 44,000 children by that time. Type 2 diabetes used to be described as ‘late onset’ and considered a disease of adulthood and ageing.
    Planning for the worst: estimates of obesity and comorbidities in school-age children in 2025, T. Lobstein and R. Jackson-Leach, Pediatric Obesity Perspective, 2016