To think there's never a bad time for a sugar tax

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I just heard a(nother) politician on the radio say now is not the right time for a sugar tax, due to the cost of living crisis. At the same time, he was expressing outrage at the high rates of tooth decay in children and pledging tooth-brushing lessons in primary schools. Surely a cost of living crisis is a perfectly reasonable time for a sugar tax? When families are struggling financially, it's irresponsible to appease them with cheap sugary treats that damage their children's health.

I don't agree with sugar tax, theres now sweetners in everything which are not really any better for you.

Being T1 diabetic its terrible they have adjusted the sugar contents in everything, if I have a mars bar usually sorts it, now they are smaller and sometimes need 2, Lucozade etc the same less sugar means you need more and its expensive too. Not only that the sugar free pepsi ect also went up to the same price as full coke. Not all sugar is bad for you stop trying to control people with having to spend more when they have no other option.

I guess the problem is with manufacturing and the changes in procedure that would be needed to remove sugar from the foods that are currently cheapest.

If you suddenly tax the cheapest food (some of which is possibly filled with sugar) then you are effectively raising the price on a number of foods the poorest people are relying on, thus reducing their already limited choices.

It could be added slowly with more warnings, I should have thought, but as a PP said, it would be good if the answer wasn’t just to replace all the sugar with sweetners. There’s no easy answer to that though, in a country that’s vert used to having a lot of sweet food in their diet.

Food is already quite expensive at the moment many people are already struggling with food poverty so no I don't think a sugar tax is appropriate.

A sugar tax doesn't help people be healthy - there are arguments against artificial sweeteners over 'real' sugars. People also aren't going to start eating more fruit and veg because a pizza/ burger etc is more expensive.

Come on now! Artificial sweeteners are classed at the same level of carcinogen as Aloe Vera. Surprisingly enough the most natural of them, Stevia seems to be one that has the worst affect on the gut.

I also don't agree with a sugar tax but the reason is a nanny state makes me shudder.

I want a sugar and artificial sweetener tax at the same time if we are going to have it.
Artificial sweeteners are surely not good for us any more than sugar is. Research is showing that they lead to weight gain (especially around the waist).
I don't know what we can do because we are destroying our kids with the ready availability and cheapness of these foods. Where we are 28% of kids are obese aged 10. And those fat kids at 10 are huge by 20. Their lives are already likely shortened with the weight but also likely to have a multitude of avoidable health conditions that will mean they have a shite quality of life. Something needs to be done as it's so easy. I live next to a corner shop for £2 can pay a litre bottle of cola and a massive bag of sweets. I see the school kids do this day in day out.

Sugar is slowly killing us all so I have to agree.

Interesting. Do you think drugs should be legalised? My anti nanny state friend doesn't which makes no sense to me!

Why not fat and salt? What about artificial sweetness, and e numbers, palm sugar, msg?

Why just sugar?

My daughter has ARFID & autism. She lives off items that would be taxed.
I'm on sickness benefits myself and already struggle to buy her the branded items she will eat. If I get cheaper substitutes she won't even touch them.

If they put a tax on her safe foods I honestly don't know how we would feed her.

I don't think we should start taxing ingredients like sugar, it's just a bit silly to me. I'm annoyed with all of the lovely food they've ruined already! Why just sugar? Why not fat? Salt? All of these other health issue contributing ingredients. It just is over involvement of the government imo.

I'm not saying sugar isn't impacting the high levels of dental issues in children - but I'd like to see a study on the availability of dental care for the children (and their parents!). I think there's a good link between people who are unable to access an affordable / local dentist in time for preventing these sorts of issues with regular check ups + guidance, and the rates of tooth decay. Especially when it's a problem that's been going on for so long that the parents probably experienced similar issues so there's not that inter generational conversation about dental hygiene / good practice being taught.

The sugar tax just leads to artificial sweetners replacing sugar. They make things taste vile - maybe that's good if it stops people buying them but it doesn't seem to for the majority. I'm convinces that some time in the not too distant future there will be a big health scare over these sweetners.

Thing is the price of sugary things has already gone up so its worth seeing if that has reduced consumption already. If it has then there's no need really.

I dont agree with the sugar tax

I also dont agree with the over sweetning of foods, foods which are not meant to be sweet. The sugar issue means artificial sweetners are bunged in everything, not only does this taste horrible but they are not good for you, they affect weight gain and loss, your body is tricked by the mimicking of sweetness and prepares for sugar.

The focus on foods should be for all natural foods, with embracing of healthy fats and proteins.

I have a bit of sugar here and there, both in fruit/veg and the odd sweet food. I dont touch anything with sweetners in it.

I don't agree with the sugar tax either.

People need to take accountability regarding what they put in their mouth. Denmark brought in a sugar tax years ago. People, me included, still buy crap and eat too much sugar. It's just more expensive here now.

Sweeteners are horrific for you. You know Coke Zero eats your teeth the same as full sugar coke? That's due to the additives like citric acid. The carbonation also causes dental decay. And the sweeteners spike your blood sugar and it's believed to be a stress response by your body as it's expecting sugar due to the sweetness.

Lots of videos by reliable scholars on YouTube about UPFs and how awful artificial sweeteners are.

This is a good one.

Mostly agree, but the unintended consequences are that everything seems to have artificial sweeteners in. When I go to the pub & want a soft drink I can only drink full fat Coke or fizzy water, even previously safe options like fentimans are now AS roulette. I even bought a couple of cans of premixed G&T / cocktail from Aldi last summer. NOTHING on the can, but the unmistakeable taste of sweeteners when I tasted them 🤬🤢

But there's already a sugar tax?? If you don't think it's effective maybe the whole thing needs a rethink and we could accept that people just make those choices.

And as someone who needs real sugar not shit fake sweeteners due to a metabolic disorder, why should I be forced to pay more because of idiots making shit choices?

Yeah this having a 17 year old with a rare type of diabetes treated as type 1_I have too keep sugary stuff in the house in case of a Hypo,s.

In plenty of shops, the "sugary" fizzy drinks are back to the same price as the "low sugar" fizzy/diet drinks, so the sugar tax really isn't working as they intended it to do.

Ironically, more impressive with the likes of McDonalds and Burger King who have managed to keep the price differential to disincentivise sugary drinks, i.e. meal deals that only include low sugar drinks where you have to pay more for a fizzy version.

Such a shame that shops, including some supermarkets, only increased the price of fizzy drinks temporarily when the tax first came in and now regularly sell both kinds at the same price, especially when they have their fake special offers.

Yes 100% this! If things weren't over-sweetened everyone could regulate their sugar intake better. The tax has just encouraged places to stock more terrible choices with artificial sweeteners in.

It's not gone up by more than the price of food generally due to Ukraine, power costs, wages increases, etc etc.