The government has announced an extension of the soft drinks levy to more high-sugar drinks, with the aim of making it easier for families to buy less sugary products.
Changes will apply the charge to pre-packaged milk-based and milk-alternative drinks with added sugar, like supermarket milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees.
Many of these products can contain as much added sugar as fizzy drinks, where much of that sugar is added separately to the milk, but were previously exempt from the levy, which so far has seen the average sugar content of drinks in scope fall almost 50% since it was introduced. Plain, unsweetened milk and milk-alternative drinks are not and will not be included.
Obesity is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. With the UK now having the third highest rate of adult obesity in Europe, it remains a critical public health challenge, costing the NHS £11.4 billion a year, 3 times the NHS budget for ambulance services.
This and other measures the government is taking to tackle the obesity crisis will prevent hundreds of thousands of people becoming obese, helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
“An unhealthy start to life holds kids back from day one, especially those from poor backgrounds like mine. We’re on a mission to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, and that means taking on the biggest drivers of poor health,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting.
“The levy has already shown that when industry cuts sugar levels, children’s health improves. So, we’re going further. A healthier nation will mean less pressure on our NHS, a healthier economy, and a happier society. It’s a simple change that is part of this government’s mission to give every child a healthy start to life.”
The threshold is being lowered from 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml. This means more high-sugar drinks will fall under the levy unless manufacturers reduce sugar, with businesses given until 1 January 2028 to reduce sugar in their drinks.
This is a levy on manufacturers and importers, which has led to companies acting by halving sugar content in popular drinks to avoid the tax. The government expects companies to do the same with the extension.
Savings for the NHS
Between 2015 and 2024, the levy has cut sugar levels in affected products by almost half.
These interventions have led to substantial reductions in hospital admissions for children requiring caries-related tooth extractions, with decreases of over 28% among 0–4 year olds and more than 5% among 5–9 year olds.
In addition, businesses have consistently experienced increased sales of drinks. According to comprehensive DHSC data, these products recorded a 13.5% rise in volume sales (litres) between 2015 and 2024, demonstrating strong consumer acceptance and the commercial viability of healthier reformulated beverages.
The new plans are expected to reduce daily calorie intake by around 4 million in children and 13 million in adults across England. This could prevent almost 14,000 cases of adult obesity and nearly 1,000 cases of childhood obesity.
It is expected to also deliver almost £1 billion in health and economic benefits, including by saving the NHS £36 million, reduce social care pressures by £30 million, and contributing around £221 million in economic output through improved workforce participation.
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