A sugar tax may have to be introduced to curb obesity rates, the chief medical officer for England has said. Dame Sally Davies told a committee of MPs that unless the government was strong with food and drink manufacturers, it was unlikely they would resize their products.
She said she believed "the research will find sugar is addictive", and that "we may need to introduce a sugar tax".
The food industry said it was working on reducing sugar in products. Speaking to the health select committee, Dame Sally said: "We have normalised being overweight. I do fear this generation of children will live less than my parents’ generation."
Earlier this year doctors called for a soft drinks tax to reduce sugar intake. The charity Sustain, which advises the government on the food and farming industry, says the UK consumes more than 5,727 million litres of sugary soft drinks a year. Adding a 20p tax for every litre sold would raise more than £1.1bn.