Brits unconvinced by sugar tax

This year has seen numerous calls from various organisations for the introduction of a sugary drinks tax in the UK. It has been a huge topic for conversation and, as such, has formed the basis of many of my blogs recently.

Supporters of such a tax include the Children’s Food Campaign, the British Medical Association, chef Jamie Oliver and, this week, the sugar tax received the backing of MPs.

Tired of the onslaught, however, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) commissioned an independent poll of GB adults by Populus to find out their thoughts on the idea – and the results suggest they’re unconvinced.

FDF director general Ian Wright explains, “Instead of presuming to speak for the British public as some health campaigners have done, we’ve asked consumers directly whether they think a sugar tax would be effective at tackling obesity.”

According to the results, only four in ten Brits think introducing a tax on sugar sweetened soft drinks would be effective in tackling obesity and even fewer think a ban on supermarket price promotions – such as buy one, get one free – would be effective.

In addition, over two thirds of the 2,005 consumers polled think a tax on sugar sweetened soft drinks would:

• Penalise the majority of people who consume soft drinks responsibly (67 per cent agree)
• Increase substantially year on year (67 per cent agree)
• Inevitably lead to taxes on other foods (78 per cent agree).

Wright continues, “The public’s instincts mirror what the facts are telling us – that there isn’t evidence that a tax would make any difference to obesity.

“Last month, Public Health England (PHE), which called for a new tax on top of the 20 per cent VAT charged on soft drinks, conceded that there was no long-term data showing it would work.”

Indeed, whilst PHE’s review, Sugar reduction: the evidence for action, published last month, concluded that a range of factors is contributing to an increase in sugar consumption, it also noted that a price increase through a tax or a levy was likely to be less effective at reducing sugar intake than measures such as reducing price promotions, reducing the advertising of sugary products to children and reducing the sugar content of everyday food and drinks.