The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced the introduction of a sugar tax on soft drinks.

Sir Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said: “The Chancellor’s announcement of a levy on high sugar drinks is great news for the health of our children. Making sugary drinks more expensive and less appealing to children is a vital step in reducing obesity levels in the UK. Our research has revealed that a tax like this could prevent millions from becoming obese. Failing to act would lead to hundreds of thousands of obesity-related cancers in the future. We’re delighted that Government have listened to Cancer Research UK and more importantly to the public who wanted to see decisive action to prevent the next generation becoming obese. This measure is one of several key steps in the long road to tackling children’s obesity. We look forward to seeing similarly strong measures to reduce the promotion of unhealthy food and improve the availability of healthy choices.

“We also welcome the increase tax on tobacco and greater efforts to tackle illicit trade in tobacco. Higher prices means fewer people will smoke. 100,000 people die from a tobacco related illness every year so it's vital that efforts continue to reduce smoking rates.”

Source: Cancer Research UK