LONDON, Nov 25 (KUNA) -- The UK government has announced an extension of the soft drinks industry levy to more high-sugar drinks, including milk-based drinks, Department for Health and Social Care statement said Tuesday.
This change is part of a package of measures the government is using to tackle obesity and prevent heart disease, stroke, and cancer, including: the Healthy Food Standard to make the average shopping basket of goods healthier, banning junk food adverts before the 9pm watershed, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children aged under 16 and giving local authorities powers to stop fast food shops setting up outside schools, the department said in a press release.
The new plans are expected to reduce daily calorie intake by around 4 million in children and 13 million in adults across England, it said, adding that this could prevent almost 14,000 cases of adult obesity and nearly 1,000 cases of childhood obesity.
It is expected to also deliver almost آ£1 billion in health and economic benefits, including by saving the NHS آ£36 million, reduce social care pressures by آ£30 million, and contributing around آ£221 million in economic output through improved workforce participation.
The threshold is being lowered from 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml. This means more high-sugar drinks will fall under the levy unless manufacturers reduce sugar, with businesses given until 1 January 2028 to reduce sugar in their drinks.
Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. With the UK now having the third highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, it remains a critical public health challenge, costing the NHS آ£11.4 billion a year, 3 times the NHS budget for ambulance services.
Between 2015 and 2024, the levy has cut sugar levels in affected products by almost half. These interventions have led to substantial reductions in hospital admissions for children requiring caries-related tooth extractions, with decreases of over 28 percent among 0-4 year olds and more than 5% among 5-9 year olds. (end) nbs.mt