The soft drinks levy will be extended to cover more products, including sugary milk-based drinks like supermarket milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks and ready-to-drink coffees.
Many of these products can contain as much added sugar as fizzy drinks, but were previously exempt from the levy. So far the levy has seen the average sugar content of drinks in scope fall almost 50% since it was introduced.
The threshold is also being lowered from 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml. This means more high-sugar drinks will fall under the levy unless manufacturers reduce sugar, with businesses given until 1st January 2028 to reduce sugar in their drinks.
With the UK now having the third highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, it remains a critical public health challenge, costing the NHS £11.4 billion a year, three times the NHS budget for ambulance services.
The Government says changes could cut 17 million calories a day from the nation’s daily intake, helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke and take pressure off the NHS.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting commented: “An unhealthy start to life holds kids back from day one, especially those from poor backgrounds like mine. We’re on a mission to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, and that means taking on the biggest drivers of poor health.
“The levy has already shown that when industry cuts sugar levels, children’s health improves. So, we’re going further. A healthier nation will mean less pressure on our NHS, a healthier economy, and a happier society. It’s a simple change that is part of this Government’s mission to give every child a healthy start to life.”
The new plans are expected to reduce daily calorie intake by around four 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.
It is expected to also 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, added: “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.”