Sugar tax successful in lowering soft drink sugar content

The imposition of a soft drink tax was more effective in lowering the sugar content of many soft drinks than voluntary efforts by beverage manufacturers in the UK. — AFP

The British government’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), introduced in April 2018 to help combat childhood obesity and related conditions like diabetes and heart disease, has resulted in soft drinks manufacturers in the United Kingdom lowering the sugar levels in their drinks, researchers have found.

The research was carried out by teams at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Exeter and University of Bath, and is funded by the UK National Institute for Health Research.