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Action on Sugar

A coalition of British businesses opposing the soft drinks tax has launched

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In response to the launch of the coalition, Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London and Chairman of Action on Sugar, says:
“This is a complete scandal and clearly cheap scaremongering from the soft drinks industry. In actual fact, the sugar drinks tax will switch people to lower sugar or artificially-sweetened drinks which are cheaper to produce than sugar-sweetened drinks, meaning that in reality soft drink companies will make more money. Sugar-sweetened drinks are the biggest contributor of sugar intake in the diets of children and teenagers and unless they are cut back there will be an increase in the levels of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay, all of which are preventable and cost the NHS billions of pounds each year, unnecessarily. Soft drink companies need to get serious in the interest of the UK consumers.

We are calling on Theresa May, the new Prime Minister, to include the Sugar Tax as one of the critical six evidence based actions that we put forward to the government in 2015 to help inform the Obesity Strategy to ensure that a robust plan is implemented once and for all.”

The Obesity Health Alliance [see their website] responds to industry campaign against the soft drinks industry levy:
“The soft drinks industry levy will save money tomorrow by helping to tackle children’s obesity today. Sugary soft drinks have no nutritional value and are the single biggest contributor to a child’s sugar intake, and high consumption of sugar is one of the factors fuelling the obesity crisis. A third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, putting them at a greater risk of serious health conditions later in life such as Type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart and liver disease and associated mental health problems. These conditions place an immense toll on our nation’s health and our already-stretched health service.
The levy has huge potential help tackle obesity and save the NHS money.”

"Sugary drink taxes do not have a negative impact on employment, and industry claims of  job losses are overstated and may mislead policy-makers and the public." That is the verdict of a peer-reviewed article published in the American Journal of Public Health. For more information see Children Food Campaign website.

Media Coverage: A coalition of British businesses opposing the soft drinks tax has launched

 

 

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