The UK government is considering expanding the existing sugar tax which currently applies to soft drinks.
As per Sky News, the sugar tax will now apply to milkshakes and other pre-packaged sugary drinks that are mostly made up of milk.
This would also apply to non-dairy substitutes like oat, soy, almond and rice milk if they contain added sugar.
The goal of this move is to help reduce obesity by discouraging the consumption of sugary drinks which have become very common these days and are being consumed excessively by people without knowing their harmful effects.
If the tax is extended, it will affect 203 types of pre-packaged milk based drinks which make up 93% of all sales.
When was sugar tax introduced and what was the outcome?
The sugar tax on soft drinks was first started in 2018 by the Conservative government.
Since then, the company have reduced the sugar in their drinks by 46% and now 89% of soft drinks sold in the UK don’t have to pay the tax.
Afterwards, several studies suggest this tax may have helped prevent thousand of children from becoming obese and also reduced tooth decay.
The government believes that extending the sugar tax could reduce daily calorie intake for certain age groups, resulting in health and economic benefits worth £4.2bn over 25 years.
A charity called The Food Foundation suggested that the government should go further by including food items in the sugar tax if they really want to improve health, diets and the economy.
Government seeks feedbacks on proposed charges
The government is holding a consultation from April 28 to July 21 and during this time, businesses, charities and individuals are encouraged to share their opinions on the proposed charges.
