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Doctors demanding a 20% tax on sugary drinks
UK doctors are rallying for a hefty tax on sugary beverages.
In a report from the British Medical Association, medical practitioners are demanding action on sugary drinks, and subsidies for fresh fruit and vegetables in an effort to curb England’s growing obesity epidemic.
The doctors expressed concern about the impact of poor diet, “which is responsible for up to 70,000 deaths per year,” said Professor Sheila Hollins, chair of the BMA board of science.
Among subsidising healthy food and mandatory standards, they are calling for a tax on sugar-laden drinks: “we are increasingly concerned about how they contribute toward conditions like diabetes,” she said. “If a tax of at least 20 per cent is introduced, it could reduce the prevalence of obesity in the UK by around 180,000 people.”
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Other countries have already taken action on sugary drinks, with countries like Mexico implementing a soda tax in an attempt to combat the country’s world-high obesity rate.
While there is no sugar tax in Australia - where the obesity rate is around 63 per cent - one Newspoll survey from May revealed that 85 per cent of Australians would support a sugar tax if the revenue was invested into programs tackling childhood obesity.
