Retailers have expressed disappointment as health experts push for an expansion of sugar taxes on food and drink, following a dramatic reduction in sugar consumption since the soft drinks levy was implemented in 2018.
Children’s daily sugar consumption halved between 2018-2019, while the soft drinks tax was applied in April 2018. Sugar consumption dropped by a third for adults in the same period, a new study has revealed.
The research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, has shown that the daily sugar intake for children fell by about 4.8g, and for adults 10.9g, in the year after the levy’s introduction.
Responses were collected from 7,999 adults and 7,656 children between 2008 and 2019 as part of the annual, nationally representative UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
Experts have commented that an expansion of this levy is a “no brainer”. They argue the amount of sugar consumed by adults and children still remains above the recommended guidelines and is contributing to high levels of tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.
Difficult for retailers
Ian Lewis, of Spar Minister Lovell, Oxfordshire, said the push for an extension of the levy “just feels like they’re trying to make life as difficult as possible to be a retailer”
He said: “You look at the price of Coca-Cola and see the price has gone up quite a bit – it was already placed on a lot of categories. Suppliers have tried to get around it by tweaking certain ingredients and things like that. It’s just another hurdle for us. If they start stretching it across other categories, it’ll be suppliers that have to [adjust things].
“It’ll be more expensive for us to buy, and everything is already more expensive than it was six years ago. With concerns about things like the vape ban going through, it getting really tough. I still think the responsibility is with parents to look after their children’s sugar intake, and for shopkeepers to not sell energy drinks to under-16s.
Sue Nithyanandan, of Costcutter Epsom, Surrey, said more choice needs to be given to the consumer, and added that when suppliers begin adjusting ingredients to avoid tax, consumers will “not know what the sugar is being replaced with”, which is another concern.
“A lot of the American candy is flying off the shelves, and that’s very sweet, but I don’t think you should start tampering with [the tax of] all foods. Parents should be allowed to parent their children, you shouldn’t take away choice in this matter. Education is more important. Expanding the tax and making it a non-choice is dangerous.”
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