Britain on Friday joined France, Norway and Mexico in rolling out a sugar tax on soft drinks in an attempt to tackle obesity and tooth decay in children. Drinks containing five grammes of sugar per 100 ml will face a lower rate of 18 pence ($0.25, 0.21 euros) per litre, whereas those with more than eight grammes per 100 ml will face a rate of 24 pence per litre.
Top-selling brands such as Fanta, Ribena and Lucozade have already cut the sugar content of their products to avoid the tax, but Coca-Cola and Pepsi will both stick with the same recipes, which both contain more than 10 grammes per 100 ml. "Our teenagers consume nearly a bathtub of sugary drinks each year on average, fuelling a worrying obesity trend," said Public Health Minister Steve Brine.