In March 2016, the United Kingdom decided to introduce a tax on sugary drinks. I must say that the percentage of obese children in England reaches peaks: 25.5% of sixth graders (against 5% on average in France). At the end of adolescence, these young adults consume an average of 70 grams of added sugars per day, while they should not consume more than 30 grams (6 sugar cubes). And these added sugars mostly come from carbonated drinks. Boys are more affected than girls, and working-class children are at greater risk than those from wealthier families.
Encourage manufacturers to reformulate carbonated drinks to reduce sugar content.
Unlike countries like Mexico, which imposed a tax on sugary drinks to make them more expensive, the English tax was intended to encourage manufacturers to reformulate their recipes to reduce the sugar content: the less sugar in drinks, the lower the tax. To give producers time to review the composition of their drinks, the English legislator decided that the tax would only apply from April 2018. Thus, since the introduction of the tax, the percentage of drinks containing more than 5 g sugar/100 ml has fallen from 49% to 15% of sugary drinks (subject to the tax) sold in the UK. However, there is one caveat: the tax only applies to non-alcoholic beverages, usually carbonated drinks… The last feature: part of the tax paid by manufacturers is also passed on to the retail price (as in Mexico), which increases the cost of these drinks.
Therefore, it was interesting to assess the impact of the English tax on childhood obesity. It was this task that the team of the School of Clinical Medicine of the University of Cambridge (UK) approached under the leadership of epidemiologist Nina Rogers. Indeed, following the 2015 WHO recommendations, based on varying global experiences, a significant number of countries or cities have implemented this type of tax measure, with very different results depending on the measure’s application criteria. In Philadelphia, on the east coast of the United States, a “soda tax” would have been a success: A 50 cent per liter tax on sugary and soft drinks resulted in a 38% drop in sales of these products in the US. city shops. On the other hand, the first “soda tax” introduced in France would have had no real effect; therefore, it was revised in 2018 in the hope of making it more efficient.
In March 2016, the United Kingdom decided to introduce a tax on sugary drinks. I must say that the percentage of obese children in England reaches peaks: 25.5% of sixth graders (against 5% on average in France). At the end of adolescence, these young adults consume an average of 70 grams of added sugars per day, while they should not consume more than 30 grams (6 sugar cubes). And these added sugars mostly come from carbonated drinks. Boys are more affected than girls, and working-class children are at greater risk than those from wealthier families.
Encourage manufacturers to reformulate carbonated drinks to reduce sugar content.
Unlike countries like Mexico, which imposed a tax on sugary drinks to make them more expensive, the English tax was intended to encourage manufacturers to reformulate their recipes to reduce the sugar content: the less sugar in drinks, the lower the tax. To give producers time to review the composition of their drinks, the English legislator decided that the tax would only apply from April 2018. Thus, since the introduction of the tax, the percentage of drinks containing more than 5 g sugar/100 ml has fallen from 49% to 15% of sugary drinks (subject to the tax) sold in the UK. However, there is one caveat: the tax only applies to soft drinks, usually carbonated drinks… One final clarification: part of the tax paid by manufacturers is also passed on to the retail price (as in Mexico), which increases the cost of these drinks.
Therefore, it was interesting to assess the impact of the English tax on childhood obesity. It was this task that the team of the School of Clinical Medicine of the University of Cambridge (UK) approached under the leadership of epidemiologist Nina Rogers. Indeed, following the 2015 WHO recommendations, based on varying global experiences, a significant number of countries or cities have implemented this type of tax measure, with very different results depending on the measure’s application criteria. In Philadelphia, on the east coast of the United States, a “soda tax” would have been a success: A 50 cent per liter tax on sugary and soft drinks resulted in a 38% drop in sales of these products in the US. city shops. On the other hand, the first “soda tax” introduced in France would have had no real effect; therefore, it was revised in 2018 in the hope of making it more efficient.
Put fruit juices and milkshakes on this tax on sugary drinks
Another interest of the study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine by Nina Rogers and colleagues, is that it is not based on a reduction in sugary drink purchases, but on a real calculation of the evolution of “obesity.” In this way, scientists gained access to the dynamics of the weight and height of one million children aged 4-5 years and 10-11 years old from public English primary schools between September 2013 and November 2019. The researchers compared the levels of obesity, 19 months. after the introduction of taxes with a predicted level of obesity, if these taxes were not passed.
- Among girls aged 10-11 years, epidemiologists found an 8% decrease in obesity (or 5,234 cases), with a larger decrease in girls living in poorer areas.
- Among boys aged 10-11 years, there were no significant changes in obesity rates.
- Similarly, in younger children (4-5 years old), there was no correlation between tax performance and a reduction in obesity.
Nina Rogers, lead author of the paper, points out in her paper’s conclusion that these initial observations will need to be confirmed, as other factors may have contributed to the decline in girls’ obesity rates, and recalls that obesity is a multifactorial disease. with various reasons.
When asked by Science et Avenir about the reasons why we are not seeing a reduction in obesity in boys, Nina Rogers replies: “One possibility could be their greater susceptibility to marketing and advertising; there may also be social pressure so that they do not consume light foods, on the other hand, girls will be more sensitive to public health messages. But for now, these are just hypotheses.
Reduce the “desiccated” environment
If the implications of this tax are encouraging, Nina Rogers points out: “The tax could be improved and made even more effective: for the moment, it does not include drinks such as fruit juices, which are high in sugar and are consumed in large quantities by young people. children (4-5 years old), as well as dairy products such as milkshakes.” She also notes, “Beverage reformulations tend to bring sugar levels just below the tax threshold (5g) through the use of a combination of sweeteners and sugar, rather than replacing sugar entirely.”
With this “soda tax”, the English legislator also planned in January 2023 to ban television advertising until 9 p.m. of foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as a ban on “one buy, one free” advertising. type. The implementation of this law has been delayed until 2025. It is a big disappointment for Nina Rogers, this law could affect young boys, especially those who come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
In her opinion, the English legislator is still too timid in view of the more than alarming situation of children on the national territory; policies are needed that reduce the “obesity-friendly environment” in which they grow up, based on collective rather than individual responsibility.
French “soda tax”
In 2012, France introduced a “tax on carbonated drinks”. It was designed more for tax revenue than public health. As a result, his fixed rate was fixed and low. On the other hand, it covered both all sugary drinks (soft drinks, fruit juices, fruit drinks and flavored milk) and snacks containing sweeteners, in contrast to the English tax, which has a narrower range of taxed drinks. However, like the English tax, it did not take into account pure fruit juices. This first tax had a very small effect on reducing consumption: less than 5%. And it was shown that this effect was stronger among households with the lowest incomes.
In 2018, a new tax system was introduced. The tax is now indexed to the amount of added sugar in drinks at 16 different rates. By comparison, UK tax is based on three levels of taxation. The goal of the French legislator is to encourage manufacturers to gradually reduce the level of sugar in their products and to teach consumers to gradually get used to less sweet drinks.
Asked by Sciences et Avenir, Yann Le Baudot, Coordinator of the Carbonated Drink Tax Consortium, a group of researchers who analyze the impact of these taxes, elaborates: “We are surprised on the impact of these sixteen progressive stages on reformulation practice, in particular as compared to the impact of the three thresholds used in the case of the English tax.studies are underway to evaluate it. He elaborates:One might also wonder if it would be worthwhile to better target tax revenues for prevention and health promotion initiatives, as recommended by the WHO and done by other countries, which is generally well received by the public.
So there is still room for improvement for the French legislator to make the soda tax more effective.