Sugary Drinks
Its now illegal to refill sugary drinks in restaurants i know some people will say that's good to tackle obesity But this is deeply concerning to me more freedom of choice taken
Comments
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I was all in favour of the sugar tax, but after a few years I realised everywhere has switched to artificial sweeteners instead, which is not a good thing as far as I'm concerned, after my awareness of ultra processed food increased.
I fully support a reduction in sugar, but not switching to artificial sweeteners instead.
It's also ridiculously hard now to buy canned lemonade multipacks, that contain sugar.
Even my local massive Tesco Extra doesn't sell any!
For anyone interested check out Ultra Processed People by Dr Chris Van Tulleken.
He doesn't tell people what to eat, he gives the facts and lets people make up their own minds. The facts themselves turn people away from eating & drinking so much UPF 👍🏻
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I'm a big fan of Pepsi, but I understand the sugar tax, as soft drinks used to be so cheap to buy, many people were living off them, which isn't a healthy option, especially for kids. This just seems like a natural progression from that.
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I dont agree Albus I feel so uneasy with everything they are pushing i understand where your coming from but I see this as a form of control
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There's always been some form of control though @Catherine21 even down to the movies we can watch and what times we can go into shops.
This new rule will lead to less dental issues and weight issues, especially in children, so it'll ultimately be good for the NHS. Plus it'll lead to less free drinks being given out, which will be good for the businesses. 😊
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For me its a slippery slope i have no trust in this government and really dont believe anything they do is for the good of me I won't include others as everyone had thier own opinions
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I'd dispute weight issues, many studies have since replicated these findings
(this is worldwide not just in developed western countries)
UPF doesn't just cover food it covers drinks too - not just fizzy I've often thought the concoctions served up by coffee chains also contain obscene amounts of calories, fat & sugar unless drunk in moderation (which most people don't practice with coffee!).
The book I mentioned:
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Oh you're totally right, UPFs are a huge issue that need addressing.
Some of those sugary coffee monstrosities are bonkers! 😆0 -
I hate hate hate zero sugar or sugar free drinks, they taste disgusing. I can always taste the artificial sweetners in them. Just leave us alone already. We are constantly being controlled. The UK and the world is becoming a miserable place to live, at what point do we start fighting back?
I'm convinced if things keep going the way they are, we will see a cival war soon.
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Interesting comments
I used to enjoy a fizzy drink maybe twice a week, but now there's so many with sweeteners I've stopped completely, because I'm one of the minority who can taste sweeteners
Ironically I now often choose milkshakes or fruit juice, which actually have more sugar than old style full-sugar fizzy drinks; albeit they have useful nutrition too, so aren't "empty calories"
For a time I used to buy the smarter drinks because I'd buy them occasionally or as a treat (i.e. what they were intended to be for) but now those drinks are starting to put sweetener in too, and I can really tell the difference. When they cost 4 or 5 times as much as Coke or Pepsi I kind of assumed they'd put the best ingredients in and suck up the necessary taxes, and just pass the cost onto the customer… not make it taste similar to a 25p artificially sweetened drink for the sake of a few pence saving
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Its now illegal to refill sugary drinks in restaurants…But this is deeply concerning to me more freedom of choice taken
Compared with the REAL freedoms we lost after the Brexit vote (decided by one third of the electorate) this is absolute trivia on the forum!
You can get as fat as you want in restaurants but you have to pay for those additional sugary drinks, that's all! No loss of choice or freedom. Just don't complain that our GP's and NHS can't deliver the services you expect!
These are 'deep' concerns about nothing at all 🙄
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I haven't checked but I don't even think it's illegal to give free refills, presumably if the restaurant wanted to they could offer them but they'd have to record each refill and absorb the tax themselves?
I might be wrong and it might well be like the carrier bag surcharge where the shop can't pay it for the customer
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OK, so I've found an article from the BBC on this new law.
It's a ban on meal deals with unhealthy foods and buy one get one free too.
As mentioned in the article, some bigger stores had already implemented their own changes that fall in line with the new laws. So this isn't the government banning everything, it's the government catching up with some of the bigger chain stores.
It's worth noting some of these changes have been in the pipeline since 2021, but had not been put in place due to worries about the cost of living crisis.
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If you find it trivial scroll on
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Mustang, I haven't checked either as I don't like fizzy drinks.
{removed by moderator - uncivil}
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@WhatThe please keep things civil.
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On further investigation, these rules were supposed to be bought in back in 2021, but the then government had a lot of push back from lobbyists from the big food manufacturers.
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{removed by moderator - uncivil}
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@WhatThe again, please keep thing civil, this is a warning.
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Albus, I read your post with interest. I believe the sugar tax was just another stealth tax, not just on drinks, but on chocolate bars too, which have shrunk so much you need to buy two to make up the difference.
You say it helps the NHS by reducing tooth decay and childhood obesity. But the figures don’t support that. The tax came in April 2018. These children were born after that. And here’s what the NHS found in 2024.
22.4% of five year old's had dentinal decay, visible cavities, missing teeth, or fillings, with an average of 3.5 teeth affected per child. A broader 26.9% had enamel and/or dentinal decay.
Between 1995 and 2004, obesity among children aged 2 to 15 rose from 11% to 19% in boys, and from 12% to 18% in girls. The trend hasn’t reversed, it’s still going up.
All my own six children grew up drinking sugary drinks, eating sweets and chocolate bars. Only one has ever had a filling, at age 42. None have ever been overweight.
So if this tax was meant to make a difference, where’s the evidence? It’s shrinking snacks, reshaping drinks, and the only clear winner is the Treasury, not the children, not the NHS, and certainly not public health.
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Some very good points there @MW123 I'm just going on the information from the articles and the reasoning from the government and campaigns asking for the reduction in sugars and junk foods.
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