Obesity spurs UK doctors to propose 20% tax on sugary drinks

After a long day of work or a hot day in the sun, you may want to reach for a cold Coca-Cola or Pepsi, but if UK doctors have their way, that could soon happen a lot less.

The UK has followed plenty of American trends, and it’s alarmed about soaring rates of obesity. That concern is why doctors in the UK are jumping on the soda tax train, proposing a 20 percent tax on all drinks sweetened with sugar. The tax is meant to dissuade people from buying the unhealthy drinks. The idea is that money made from the tax will pay for fruit and vegetable subsidies to promote healthier diets and slow obesity.

Professor Sheila Hollins, chair of the British Medical Association board of science, told The Guardian, “While sugar-sweetened drinks are very high in calories they are of limited nutritional value and when people in the UK are already consuming far too much sugar, we are increasingly concerned about how they contribute towards conditions like diabetes.”

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Soda taxes have already gone into effect in Mexico and are set at 10%, half of what UK doctors are asking for. California’s legislature rejected the tax earlier this year but is considering it again and others states such as Alabama are reviewing it.

“If a tax of at least 205 is introduced, it could reduce the prevalence of obesity in the UK by around 180,000 people,” Hollins explained.

After analyzing the idea, director general of the Food and Drink Federation, Ian Wright, told the Guardian, “Many foods and drinks are already taxed at 20 percent. Where additional taxes have been introduced they’ve not proven effective at driving long-term, lasting change to diets.”

Obesity is an issue everywhere, and cheap sugary drinks aren’t helping, but maybe the best way to implement a taxing process is to ease people into it and see where it goes, before just going all in.