Extend success of UK sugar tax to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, experts urge

Submitted ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Emperor@feddit.uk⁩ to ⁨unitedkingdom@feddit.uk⁩

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jun/01/extend-success-of-uk-sugar-tax-to-cakes-biscuits-and-chocolate-experts-urge

The sugar tax has been so successful in improving people’s diets that it should be extended to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, health experts say.

The World Health Organization wants the next UK government to expand coverage of the levy to help tackle tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.

The plea is published in the WHO’s bulletin, which urges governments worldwide to use the reformulation of food to address the growing crisis of excess weight.

Experts from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have analysed the outcomes of two flagship government policies intended to make food healthier – the sugar tax and sugar reduction programme, which were introduced in 2018 and 2015 respectively.

The levy on the soft-drinks industry led to a 34.3% fall in total sugar sales from such products between 2015 and 2020 and many fizzy drinks containing much less.

But the sugar reduction programme only yielded a 3.5% drop over the same period in the amount of sugar used in the manufacture of the everyday foodstuffs it covered, the experts write in their analysis for the WHO.

Dr Kawther Hashem, a co-author and lecturer in public health nutrition at QMUL, said ministers should trial a sugar tax-style levy on treat foods that still have almost as much sugar as they did as 2015 despite firms being asked to cut sugar by 20% before 2020.

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RobotToaster@mander.xyz ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

The levy on the soft-drinks industry led to a 34.3% fall in total sugar sales from such products between 2015 and 2020 and many fizzy drinks containing much less.

They all contain artificial sweeteners instead, which the same WHO advises against.

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- Nighed@sffa.community ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  And taste worse…
  
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- Emperor@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  There are issues with that and a suggestion they reconsider their findings.
  
  As it’s the WHO asking for an extension of the sugar tax to foods, they are clearly happy with the results so far.
  
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seven_phone@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Also tax on fruit and vegetables urged to be removed. No? Not that one, oh ok then.

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- DJDarren@thelemmy.club ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Fruit and veg is already considered zero rated, unless I misunderstand your comment.
  
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  - seven_phone@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I knew Jaffa Cakes were zero-rated for tax purposes which is good as they are my main source of vitamin C. I was meaning really just the possibility of incentives in price for the healthier options, claiming back more on processing. Tax exempt carrot rather than the sugar stick.
    
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- OrlandoDoom@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  This would be great
  
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HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I and a good number of other type one diabetics ended up in EAST due to the sugar tax.

Honestly I am not against the tax. Just feel the companies should have rebounded a little.

Many T1ds were so used to buying coke etc when they are going low. We got hit hard by how quickly the companies adapted and started only selling the lower sugar versions.

To the extent that the NHS will now RX small buttles of high glucose drinks. (Lemon or Berry flavoured but non fizzy) just to ensure T1ds have an easy source of sugar to prevent unsafe low blood sugar comas.

As I say its something easy to fix now. We all just grab fruit juice. But the change and companies reactions to it. Left many of us waking up in an ambulance on the way to ER.

If they start applying it to all products. And the companies all act the same way. Just reducing sugars without any clear branding.

It will leave us with zero easy high sugar option that can be grabbed easily from any small village shop etc.

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- Patch@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  It always seemed weird to me that most companies just discontinued their traditional sugary variety and went diet only, instead of having a diet version and the sugary version just at a higher price.
  
  The death of original Irn Bru is a bit of a tragedy, and I’m not even sure what the point of low sugar Lucozade is supposed to be.
  
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  - HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Hilariously lucozade was originally used for exatly what the new gluco shots given buy the NHS were.
    
    Its original name was glucoaid. And it was used in hospitals in the 50s and 60s to give energy to paiteints.
    
    Back in the 80s when I was diagnosed Lucozade was what we were recomended to keep for the job. But there was so much better tasting stuff. I never got into it.
    
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- byroon@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  What is EAST?
  
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  - HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Lol. Auto corrected typo.
    
    ER. Thanks for pointing it out.
    
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- sneezycat@sopuli.xyz ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  So why not just grab some sugar and water and make sugary water of whatever concentration you want if needed? Is having coke available really that important?
  
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  - FarceOfWill@infosec.pub ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    The point is they reduced the sugar in coke semi secretly, they can still buy a coke it just doesn’t stop going into diabetic coma. And you find out when you’re on the way to hospital.
    
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  - HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Yes it is. Coke or an equivalent.
    
    First remember this shit his freaking fast. Especially in the summer where it littally feels like sugar is leached from your skin all day.
    
    Sugar and water is fine at home. Although honestly dose not mix well if the warer is not hot. But it can work.
    
    When you are out and about doing every day thongs. Most tiny village stores do not sell bags of sugar.
    
    Atm even friut juice is far from a garrentee in tiny shops. And you can have less then a few mind to handle this situation when its bad. (HOT).
    
    ATM. You can still get something sweet at most stores. Even if frout juice is not available. Something food wise is. Food is slower but can work. And honestly dealing with heat uou need slower acting carbs all day long.
    
    But if this new tax idea happens. And companies respond the way they did with sodas.
    
    It will mean deaths.
    
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  - HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Ill also share a cute story just to cheer evety one up.
    
    First I am hypo unaware. It is a condition that often hits long term well managed T1ds (40years in my case) where we lose the ability to tell when our sugar is low.
    
    At the time this sugar tax came in. Icwas goingvthrough a 3 year strugle with nice. Where my specialist was trying to grt me issued a CGM. (Continues, Glucose Monitor that warns you when going low)
    
    I had a girl friend at the time. Who litrally kept me alive. As over the hot summer nights she was regually required to place glucose in my mouth as I was having a fit.
    
    But after the glucose was in. It can take up to 10 mind for my mind to start responding sanely. Low blood sugar can look like you are very very drunk to outsiders.
    
    So she would be paniking and constently asking what to do while I was recovering. With me just not in a mental state to explane.
    
    So when fine one day she asked me wjat was best.
    
    So I gave her thos advice. Post the low. I genrally needvto take some slower acting carbs to prevent the heat sending me down again.
    
    The easiest way tovtake it is a sugery cup of tea and a few biscuits.
    
    Now that is only rechnically true. Pretty much anythibg with a lottle morecsugar and some slow acting carbz will work.
    
    But when i wake up after those night time lows. My memory is missing a chunch of s few hours (I never regain that). And things feel pretty darn stressful.
    
    You have no idea how relaxing a sweat cup of tea in bed and some biscuits to dunk is as your comming to from that crsp.
    
    While also taking the GF mind of rhe panic and giving her something to do rather then worry if I am going to die.
    
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BilboBargains@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Use the money to build cycle paths and trains that run on time.

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- Emperor@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  There is no money or very little anyway. It wasn’t a fundraising exercise, it was a tool to force companies to use less sugar in their products, which would have health benefits. And it worked.
  
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- DJDarren@thelemmy.club ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Tory government
  
  “No”
  
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- Aux@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  The sales have dropped. What money?
  
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Lifebandit666@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Thing is the sugar tax seems to have done fuck all in changing the prices so sugar free options are cheaper. Whenever I look in the supermarket, Fanta and Fanta zero for example are the same price, which is just far more expensive than it used to be.

So tell me how the sugar tax has made it healthier? I’m just gonna buy the full fat one if it costs the same.

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- HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  It has not changed the price of sugar free. Because the compqnies have drematically reduced the sugar in other sodas.
  
  IE you can nonlonger buy full sugar coke etc. So no tax is actually payable.
  
  Ir is definitely improved diets. But to give you an idea of how much the sugar is reduced.
  
  The first few years after the change. Type Q diabetics like me ended up in ER.
  
  Because we had spent years ,(decades in my case) turning to fullvsugar drinks to avoid dangerous lows in hot summers.
  
  Now coke etc has only a small amount more sugar then diet coke.
  
  Many of us only realised this as we came to in an ambulance on the way to ER.
  
  It was such an issue that the NHS now prescribes us very high sugar drinks in small plastic ( 100ml) bottles we can carry for emergencies.
  
  We all also now know to stick to fruit juice if we need to buy something in an emergency. As that is not covered by the rule so has tons of added sugar.
  
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  - trolololol@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Today I leaned
    
    Fruit juice is the one with the most amount of sugar
    
    What the fuck fuck is wrong with humanity???
    
    As a Brazilian the best thing to have on a hot summer day ( over 40C) is a fruit juice where by default it’s made of real fresh fruit and has no sugar added.
    
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- rayquetzalcoatl@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  You’re right! It is absolutely wild how our supermarkets get away with nakedly price gouging to be honest, I sort of don’t understand how you could sleep at night knowing that you’re just increasing prices for the sake of it lol
  
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  - Emperor@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    They sleep really well, on big piles of our money.
    
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  - HumanPenguin@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    They dont. Manufacturers do not actually pay the tax. Instead sodas lowered the sigar level to below 6g per 100ml. From 10 to 12 before.
    
    So full coke in the UK has no more tax then diet.
    
    To confirm this. I just discovered coke is now selling a classic taste version. With 10.6g sugar per 100ml.
    
    And sainsbury charges 21p more for 8 cans then diet coke.
    
    If you look at pepsi full. It is 4.6g now rather then >10g.
    
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- Emperor@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  Thing is the sugar tax seems to have done fuck all in changing the prices so sugar free options are cheaper.
  
  I don’t think it was ever intended to.
  
  So tell me how the sugar tax has made it healthier?
  
  The manufacturers don’t want the same flavour drink at two different prices, so they reduced the amount of sugar in the full fat variety, making it more… semi-skimmed. So people who still drink it are consuming less sugar which for most people (see the post about the impact on diabetics) is healthier. However, not consuming food or drink with added sugar is the healthiest option.
  
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Emperor@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If you ask them politely, they aren’t going to do anything. Once they see their bottom line being hit it tends to focus their minds.

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NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Maybe I won’t bother coming back.

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- Ilflish@lemm.ee ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Ok
  
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- Emperor@feddit.uk ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  The lower amount of sugar in drinks (and possibly food), with it’s positive impact on weight and dental health, seems an odd deciding factor for such an important decision.
  
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