Budget 2017 – new sugar tax to fight rising obesity will add 8p to can of Coca-Cola from next April

SUGAR-FILLED soft drinks will see a tax hike in April next year in an attempted to curb rising levels of obesity and tooth decay.

Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed details of the previously-announced sugar tax in his budget statement, saying money raised would go to the Department for Education (DfE) for School sports.

Health experts welcomed the "bold" move, with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, adding it "is a real victory for child health".

Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA, said: "This is a welcome and crucial move.

"With one in five children starting primary school overweight, this is a vital step forward."

But he said, alone a sugar tax is not enough.

He called for restrictions on junk food marketing that targets kids and action on price promotions.

The sugar tax will apply to drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100ml will be levied by 18p per litre, while those with eight grams or more of sugar per 100ml will have an extra tax of 24p per litre.

Drinks with 5 grams of sugar will be exempt.

The controversial levy was first announced last March as critics branded it a £1 billion "stealth tax" on Britain's hard up families.

Previous estimates said that the new tax could whack up the cost of a 2 litre bottle of Coca-Cola (10.6g per 100ml) by as much as 48p if the plans go ahead as announced and the drinks giant doesn't alter its recipe.

A standard can of regular Coke, currently costing around 70p, will be slapped with a 8p increase while the same amount of Sprite (6.6g per 100ml) would go up by 6p.

Scots favourite Irn Bru (10.5g per 100ml) would face a similar increase to Coke along with Red Bull (11g per 100ml), Dr Pepper (10.3g per 100ml) and Old Jamaica Ginger Beer (15.2g per 100ml).

Pure fruit juice has been exempted from the tax but fans of a refreshing G&T could feel pinch as Fever-Tree Indian tonic water falls into the highest band with 8g per 100ml.

The Obesity Health Alliance hailed the levy a "bold, positive and necessary move" to stop kids eating so much sugar.

"There is evidence from other countries that show similar taxes have helped to reduce the amount of sugary soft drinks consumed.

"This is a significant step in the battle against obesity and the Government should be applauded for its commitment to seeing it through."

Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health hailed the tax a "crucial development for the health of our children".

And she added is delighted to see the money being ploughed back into sport in schools and healthy living programmes.

"Schools have an important role to play in giving all our children a healthy and active start in life, and it's encouraging to see the Government giving them this backing," she said.

Eating too much sugar raises a person's risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes as well as tooth decay - the leading cause of hospitalisation in young kids.

The NHS recommends that free or added sugars do not make up more than five per cent of the calories you eat each day.

That's 30g of added sugar a day for adults - roughly seven sugar cubes.

Kids aged four to six should eat no more than 19g a day (five cubes), and no more than 24g (six cubes) between seven and 10.

Experts have estimated the new tax could cut obesity in younger kids by as much as 10 per cent, experts have estimated.

But, among the rest of the population that figure is likely to be nearer one per cent, a recent study showed.

Professor Susan Jebb, who worked on the research at the University of Oxford, urged companies to cut sugar levels in their products to avoid the levy - and avoid having to hike prices.

She said: "If you put the prices up, on average people buy less, but some groups  are more affected by that than others.

"If you reformulate to reduce the sugar content, it has a health by stealth effect.

"Everybody benefits without having to change customer behaviour at all."

Campaign group Action On Sugar said they welcome the levy.

Jenny Rosborough, registered nutritionist and campaign manager, said: "We are fully supportive of the sugar tax levy and the commitments we've already seen from a growing number of drink manufacturers who've started to reduce sugar to less than five per cent.

"Sugar-sweetened drinks are the biggest contributor of sugar in the diets of children and teenagers.

"Unless they are reduced these drinks will still contribute to the high levels of obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay, all of which are preventable and cost the NHS billions of pounds each year."

She urged all manufacturers to reformulate their products to avoid the tax, rather than pass on price rises to customers.

Last night, Nestle bosses vowed to cut sugar products, such as Kit Kat, Aero and Smarties by 10 per cent - even though, they are exempt from the current sugar levy on drinks.

Bosses said they will replace it with existing ingredients, which could mean more cocoa, wafer or caramel in products.

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