Well-done to Jamie Oliver, successfully persuaded the chancellor to implement the sugar tax in April 2018. The primary purpose is to stop children from getting obese, and I support the decision – I think whatever it takes should be tried and tested. Those who are saying “it won’t work…”, listen. Nothing else has worked so far. Child obesity is still there. And our great Jamie’s campaign has influenced on the government to enter this area. We’ve just got to try, haven’t we?
Sugar Tax Will Work For Health On Adults Too
I decided to write this article because my husband drinks one glass of whisky & coke every day. And only 3 weeks ago for the first time in his life, he decided to switch to diet coke. He’s lost weight since. We still have about 50 cans of full-fat coke in the house and, I didn’t want to waste them so I decided to have a can…what a sugary drink that is, I couldn’t finish it. I got too full. I felt I’d taken a lot of calories unnecessarily. Think about how many pieces of biscuits I could have had instead?
Fizzy drinks are bad for your teeth too. I was a barman when I was 23, sipping full-fat coke all night behind the counter and before I knew it, I had bad cavities in 6 teeth. Since then I’ve always had diet fizzy drinks. I’m 51 now and I’ve had healthy teeth since.
So stating the obvious, sugar…not good for you! And we’re already having plenty of it from sweets and even from savouries. Avoid sugary drinks if you can! Enjoy taking calories from food, not from a drink.
Back To The Sugar Tax Victory…
Two thirds of people support the chancellor’s decision to levy the sugar tax according to Sky Data Poll, whereas we also hear a lot of miserable opinions such as;
- Those who are obese will continue to consume sugary food anyway.
- The tax is not fair on non-obese people like me.
- Children can have crisps instead to get obese therefore it won’t work.
There’s no credibility in saying something’s “not going to work” without applying historical data or suggesting better, practical solutions. Anyway it is suggested that the sugar tax may raise £520m and it will be used for primary school sports. It’s all positive, isn’t it?
Sugar Tax Campaign – Get Manufacturers and Retailers To Agree
In two years’ time, sugary drinks will be taxed but diet drinks will not be (or not as much), hence this should always, ALWAYS reflect the price tags in the supermarket. Full fat Coca Cola and Coke Zero should never be displayed for the same price in a shop, Coke Zero should always be cheaper otherwise that would defeat the purpose. Would you agree?
If Tesco does a seasonal discount offer – 2 packs of Pepsi for £6, say, then within the same offer range Diet Pepsi should be 2 packs for, say £5.30. It only makes sense, doesn’t it?
Yet the fizzy drink manufacturers and retailers could potentially manipulate their pricing strategy according to the tax levy. There’ll be an extra 8 pence tax on a can of normal coke. Then why not increase the selling price of diet coke by 8 pence too? That way all types of coke could be sold for the same price? For whatever reasons they could come up with such as “Because artificial sweetener costs more”. That’d be a nightmare, that’d be so stupid. And we could all moan “Sugar tax…is…not…working…..”
Is there a way to ensure that they’re not going to do that? I’m sure the plan’s already there but I just haven’t been able to find it in any publications so far.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a campaigner – I do support the whole sugar tax idea but whether I support or not is irrelevant. I’m just saying what’s already been decided by the government will need to work.
If I was a shop owner who’s strongly against the sugar tax, I would easily manipulate my profit margin and sell a can of full-fat coke for 35p, diet coke for 45p.
I’ve seen this article in the Guardian paper that Coca-Cola is hitting back at the chancellor’s decision; Coca-Cola’s UK boss, Leendert den Hollander, said: “We don’t believe the sugar tax is the right thing to be done. The facts don’t suggest that a sugar tax works to change behaviour……”
I wouldn’t expect any of the fizzy drink suppliers to welcome a sale tax increase for this instance. But if the whole “sugar issue” becomes a part of corporate social responsibility in the near future – just like any other ethical and environmental obligations, that will be good. Really good.
