The UK has one of the highest sugar intakes in the West. A report by Cancer Research UK earlier this year suggested that if current trends continue, nearly three-quarters of adults in the UK will be overweight or obese by 2035. British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced Monday that he will introduce a tax on sugary drinks, which has been dubbed the "fat tax" by the media, in an effort to fight obesity.

    

              The "sugar tax" will come into                                   effect within two years

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has declared that excessive consumption of sugary drinks is causing certain diseases and the government cannot sit idly by. A tax on sugary drinks will be introduced within two years to allow manufacturers to reformulate their products in a bid to "save the next generation".
   

   

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that he expects the government to raise $736 million (4.76 billion yuan) in the first year of the levy, which will be used to support more sports in schools.

   

     

                The UK is eating too much sugar                                and most people don't know it

The UK has one of the highest sugar intakes in the West, but most people in the UK have no idea how much sugar they consume. Many parents are unaware of how high the sugar content of milkshakes they give their children, and many students are unaware that fruit juices are not low in sugar. According to the UK Health Department, the average annual total weight of sugar consumed by a five-year-old British child is equivalent to his body weight. Men with poorer economic conditions consume more sugar.   

                              Does it work?                                       The British Soft Drinks Association objects

Britain is scheduled to introduce the new tax in April 2018. This is disputed by the British Soft Drinks Association, which argues that sugar content in sugary drinks in the UK has fallen by 13.6% since 2012, while Britons are consuming increasing amounts of sugar from elsewhere.       

           

 Gavin Partington, of the British Soft Drinks Association, said it was unfair that the penalties applied only to one category of goods, but that cakes and biscuits were also consuming more sugar and calories.       

Health experts also said the overall British diet was high in calories and sugar, so taxing sugary drinks alone was unlikely to be an effective way to combat obesity.