Sugar levels in UK soft drinks lowered following government levy
The UK government’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), introduced in April 2018 to help combat childhood obesity and related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, has resulted in soft drinks manufacturers in the UK lowering the sugar levels in their drinks, researchers have found.
The research was carried out by teams at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Exeter, Warwick and Bath Universities and is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
The SDIL applies to drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, but not to fruit juice, milk-based drinks, alcoholic drinks, or drinks from companies with sales of less than 1m litres per year. The changes in drink formulation brought about by the SDIL have been much greater than achieved by voluntary industry initiatives. The researchers found that very few eligible drinks, just 15%, were still liable for the levy by February 2019. Prior to the announcement of the levy, 52% of eligible drinks were liable for the tax.
Dr Peter Scarborough, associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, led the analysis, which is the first direct evaluation of the effects of the SDIL on drink formulation and has been published in PLoS Medicine. Sugary drinks taxes are a key measure recommended by the World Health Organization to tackle the problem of obesity and related health conditions, and Dr Scarborough says that their new analysis shows that such fiscal interventions can be a useful and effective tool for improving the population’s diet.
‘It is vital that public health interventions are evaluated using robust methods so that we can discover what is effective at preventing ill health. The levy is an important policy as it both reduces the sugar level of many drinks and increases the prices of high sugar drinks, helping the public to make healthier choices. These population approaches are important not only for preventing disease but also for reducing health inequalities,’ said Dr Scarborough.
The researchers assessed a dataset of soft drinks available in UK supermarkets from September 2015-February 2019. Prior to the announcement of the SDIL, there was already a slight downward trend in the sugar content of drinks. Dr Scarborough and the team compared the sugar content of drinks to that background trend, as a measure of how much the SDIL had affected drinks formulation.
After the announcement of the SDIL, the percentage of drinks liable for the levy began to reduce faster than the background trend. For example, if the trend had continued, by February 2019, 49% of drinks would still have been eligible for the tax, rather than the 15% actually seen. The biggest changes in drink formulation happened just before the implementation of the levy. In the 100 days either side of the implementation date (6 April 2018), 11% of the eligible drinks changed sugar content so that they were not liable.
Supermarkets had been reducing the sugar content of their own brand drinks before the SDIL was announced, so the changes were less dramatic than for branded drinks when assessed separately.
Price analysis showed that, for branded drinks, around half of the levy was passed onto consumers in higher prices of drinks in the higher levy category after the introduction of the SDIL, while lower levy drinks reduced in price.
Dr Scarborough concluded: ‘This research provides robust evidence that taxes can be used to improve the healthiness of food, and that they have a bigger influence on the food industry than voluntary measures, such as the government’s public health responsibility deal, or other non-fiscal interventions such as food labelling. The levy is applied to a relatively small proportion of soft drinks, and policymakers should consider extending it to drinks that are currently exempt, such as milk-based drinks.’
Professor Martin White of the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, Chief Investigator for the SDIL evaluation, said: ‘These are the first results from our independent evaluation of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and focus on the reformulation efforts of soft drinks companies. The findings suggest that the levy has been effective in prompting industry reformulation to reduce sugar content of many soft drinks. However, the marketing strategies of soft drinks manufacturers compared to supermarkets vary considerably, with differences in sugar content, sizes and prices of drinks as a result of the levy. Further research is looking at how these changes affect purchases and consumption of soft drinks and potential health impacts among the public, as well as impacts on businesses and the economy. These will be reported over the next year as they become available.’
Katharine Jenner Nutritionist and Director at Action on Sugar says:
“We welcome the findings from this latest research, which shows the government’s bold soft drinks industry levy is finally turning the tide against the flood of sugary drinks sold to children.
Around half of the levy was passed onto consumers in higher prices of drinks after the introduction of the SDIL. The levy should be paid for by the manufacturer and revenue ring-fenced by HM treasury to provide much needed funding to children’s health services.
It is imperative that the new government recognises the success of this mandatory approach, and immediately extends it to other categories including sugar-sweetened hot and cold milk-based drinks and alcoholic drinks – which our surveys have shown are extremely high in hidden sugar and calories.”
Editor’s notes
For further information or to request an interview, please contact Helen Tunnicliffe on 01865 289707 or email helen.tunnicliffe@ndph.ox.ac.uk. Alternatively, contact the researchers Dr Peter Scarborough (peter.scarborough@ndph.ox.ac.uk) or Professor Martin White (Martin.White@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk) directly.
Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) rates
The SDIL does not apply to pure fruit juice, milk-based drinks, alcoholic drinks, or drinks from companies with sales of less than 1m litres per year. All other soft drinks are placed in a zero tax band if they have less than 5g of sugar per 100ml, those with 5-8g of sugar per 100ml are taxed at £0.18 per litre, while those with more than 8g of sugar per 100ml are taxed at £0.24 per litre.
Nuffield Department of Population Health
The Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) is a world-leading research institute, based at the University of Oxford, that investigates the causes and prevention of disease. NDPH has over 500 staff working in a number of world-renowned population health research groups, including the Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU), the Cancer Epidemiology Unit (CEU), the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU) the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention (CPNP) and other groups working on public health, health economics, ethics and health record linkage. It is also a key partner in the new Oxford University Big Data Institute.
National Institute for Health Research
The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the nation's largest funder of health and care research. The NIHR:
- Funds, supports and delivers high quality research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care
- Engages and involves patients, carers and the public in order to improve the reach, quality and impact of research
- Attracts, trains and supports the best researchers to tackle the complex health and care challenges of the future
- Invests in world-class infrastructure and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services
- Partners with other public funders, charities and industry to maximise the value of research to patients and the economy
The NIHR was established in 2006 to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research, and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. In addition to its national role, the NIHR commissions applied health research to benefit the poorest people in low- and middle-income countries, using Official Development Assistance funding.
