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Sugar tax on the horizon

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Sugar tax on the horizon

The Government has unveiled plans to introduce a sugary drinks tax, in a bid to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which is not set to come into force until April 2018, will add between 18p and 24p to the price of a litre of fizzy drink and between 6p and 8p to the price of a can. 

The tax is expected to raise £520 million a year, which the treasury has pledged to put towards improving child health, including funding more sport in schools.

Welcoming the proposal, The Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of over 30 leading charities, royal medical colleges and campaign groups, said: “Sugary soft drinks are currently the largest source of sugar for children, and this high sugar intake is driving the deadly obesity epidemic which costs our health service billions of pounds every year. Tackling obesity today will save money tomorrow.”

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