What a title! It seems designed to bore - but behind it is an important initiative designed to improve the health of the nation.
Sugar is relatively cheap to produce - but the costs to individuals and society can be huge. There is growing evidence of the damage that it can do. The damage to teeth has been obvious for years - but the use of sugar has also been linked to diabetes, obesity, depression and dementia.
In the 2016 Budget, the former chancellor, George Osborne announced the introduction of a levy on soft drinks. The levy would apply to manufacturers and importers of sugar added soft drinks and would be implemented in April 2018. There would be exemptions for fruit juices and milk based drinks and for small producers. The proceeds of the Levy would be used in England to increase spending on PE in schools, after school clubs and breakfast clubs.
Not only will this 'sugar tax' bring in extra resources for good causes - but it is intended to discourage over-consumption of a delicious but deadly poison. The House of Commons Library [an independent, non-party political body] has produced a research paper on the Levy. It is available here.
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