Sugar Tax will encourage half of Brits to cut back

New research has shown that 47 per cent of Brits say that taxing unhealthy food and drinks will encourage them to cut down on these items.

Analysts Mintel has reported that making unhealthy food and drink products more expensive is likely to have an effect on 47 per cent of consumers, rising to 53 per cent when focusing upon of 16 to 34-year-olds. Regionally, Londoners are most likely to be deterred by a tax, noted as 53 per cent, compared to 38 per cent of consumers living in Scotland.

With the Soft Drinks Industry Levy coming into force on 6 April, Mintel also found that 75 per cent of consumers say that clearer nutritional information on packaging would contribute to them cutting down on unhealthy products, while 73 per cent claim supermarket rewards for making healthy choices would encourage healthier eating.

Emma Clifford, associate director Food & Drink, said: “Although Brits have ingrained healthy eating intentions and have upped their efforts to cut down on their sugar intake, the majority of British adults are overweight or obese and Britain is ranked the sixth fattest nation in the world. When considering how to encourage more healthy eating using the carrot or the stick approach to motivation, the rewards strategy is seen to hold more sway over consumers’ food choices.”