Soft drinks levy extended

The government has announced that the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be extended to more high-sugar drinks, including milk-based drinks, in order to protect children and health.

The changes will apply the charge to pre-packaged milk-based and milk-alternative drinks with added sugar like supermarket milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks and ready-to-drink coffees.

Some of these products can contain as much added sugar as fizzy drinks.

Plain, unsweetened milk and milk-alternative drinks are not and will not be included.

The UK has the third highest rate of adult obesity in Europe and obesity costs the NHS £11.4 billion a year.

The threshold will also be lowered to 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml. This means that more high-sugar drinks will fall under the levy unless manufacturers reduce sugar, with businesses given until 1 January 2028 to reduce sugar.

Since the levy was initially introduced, the average sugar content of drinks in scope has fallen almost 50 per cent.

Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions among 5 to 9 year olds in England. Since the levy was introduced, hospital admissions for children requiring caries-related tooth extractions have reduced - with decreases of over 28% among 0 to 4 year olds and more than 5% among 5 to 9 year olds.

However, sales have still increased. According to comprehensive Department of Health and Social Care data, these products recorded a 13.5 per cent rise in volume sales (in litres) between 2015 and 2024.

The changes are expected to reduce daily calorie intake by around 4 million in children and 13 million in adults across England. This could prevent almost 14,000 cases of adult obesity and nearly 1,000 cases of childhood obesity.

The expansion is also expected to deliver almost £1 billion in health and economic benefits, including by saving the NHS £36 million, reduce social care pressures by £30 million, and contributing around £221 million in economic output through improved workforce participation.

England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said: "Creating an environment where children are encouraged to have drinks which contribute to increased levels of obesity can harm their health for the rest of their lives.

"The existing Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already substantially reduced the amount of sugar in shop-bought products, helping slow the increase in childhood obesity and bring down hospital admissions for tooth extractions among young children.

"Extending the sugar levy is likely to have further benefit for child health."

Katharine Jenner, Executive Director at Obesity Health Alliance, said: "Ending the exemption for sugary milkshakes and bringing more sugary soft drinks into the levy is a sensible and long-overdue step to protect children’s health - especially their teeth. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already removed billions of teaspoons of sugar from the nation’s diet without harming industry growth, proving that clear, consistent rules are effective.

"We now urge the government to press on with implementing the rest of its 10 Year Health Plan - helping to rebuild a food environment that supports children’s health rather than undermines it."