The sugar tax has come into effect in the UK on Friday in an attempt to curb rising levels of obesity. The new scheme will see the price of many popular fizzy drinks such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Sprite increase in both shops and restaurants, but how much will your favourite drink increase by? And how much sugar is in the most popular drinks? We've rounded up all you need to know…
What is the sugar tax?
The sugar tax was announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his budget statement in 2017. The new levy is being put on drinks companies, who will be charged depending on how much sugar is in their drinks. Two categories of taxation are coming into force; one which relates to drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100ml, and another that applies to drinks that contain more than eight grams of sugar per 100ml. The tax is estimated to raise around £520million which will go to the Department for Education to fund sports in primary schools.
How much will the price of fizzy drinks increase by?
The amount each brand goes up by depends on the amount of sugar in the drink. Beverages with more than eight grams of sugar per 100ml will cost 24p more per litre, while those with five grams of sugar per 100ml will cost an additional 18p per litre. The price rise won't be applied to pure fruit juice or drinks that contain at least 75 per cent milk, so many ready-prepared milkshakes and coffee drink will be exempt from the tax. It also won't apply to sugar-free soft drinks such as Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero.
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A regular can of Coca-Cola will have an 8p increase, while, the cost of a 1.75 litre bottle will increase from around £1.25 to £1.49. Irn Bru, Red Bull, 7Up and Old Jamaica Ginger Beer will face a similar increase to Coke. Meanwhile, gin and tonic lovers will see a small price rise on their favourite tipple, as Fever Tree Indian tonic water contains more than 8g of sugar per 100ml.
Prices will also rise in pubs and restaurants around the UK. JD Wetherspoon has recently increased the price of sugary soft drinks by 10p, while restaurant chains Pizza Hut and TGI Fridays have also pledged to stop free refills of sugary soft drinks as part of the attempt to limit the amount of sugar we are consuming.
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How much sugar is in each fizzy drink?
This is the amount of sugar in 100ml of some of the most popular fizzy drinks -
- Old Jamaican Ginger Beer – 15.2g
- Rockstar – 15.6g
- Coca-Cola Cherry – 11.2g
- Red Bull – 11g
- 7Up – 10.6g
- Coca-Cola – 10.6g
- Appletiser – 10.5g
- Irn Bru – 10.5g
- Ribena – 9.9g
- Vimto – 9.1g
- San Pellegrino Lemon – 8.9g
- Lucozade – 8.7g
- Fever-Tree Indian Tonic water – 8g
- Dr Pepper – 4.9g
- Fanta Orange – 4.6g
- Sprite – 3.3g