The Government has announced that it is expanding the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to include milk-based drinks, while also lowering the threshold from 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml.
Responding to the news, Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, comments: “After years of campaigning, we welcome the Government’s decision to extend the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to include milk-based drinks and lower the threshold from 5g to 4.5g of sugar per 100ml as a significant victory for public health.
“Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admissions among 5- to 9-year-olds in England, outpacing other illnesses such as acute tonsilitis. Extending the Levy represents a major step towards protecting children’s oral health.
“FDS has consistently called for the threshold to be lowered to 4g of sugar per 100ml. While today’s announcement does not go as far as we recommend, we nevertheless welcome this change and remain hopeful that it will improve the dental and public health of the nation.”
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director, Obesity Health Alliance, says: “Ending the exemption for sugary milkshakes and bringing more sugary soft drinks into the levy is a sensible and long-overdue step to protect children’s health – especially their teeth. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already removed billions of teaspoons of sugar from the nation’s diet without harming industry growth, proving that clear, consistent rules are effective.
“We now urge the Government to press on with implementing the rest of its NHS 10-year plan for health. Mandatory reporting of healthy food sales with clear targets, improved school food standards, a ban on energy drinks for children, and tighter junk-food advertising rules based on the latest Nutrient Profile Model, alongside a stronger levy, would help rebuild a food environment that supports children’s health rather than undermines it.”
Barbara Crowther, Children’s Food Campaign Manager at Sustain, says: “This update rightly prioritises children’s health over corporate profit. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has brilliantly succeeded in getting companies to reduce sugar and treating sugary milkshakes the same as fizzy drinks is the right thing to do.
“Companies who’ve already reduced sugar will now be rewarded for acting responsibly, whilst those still stacking excess sugar into milkshakes will now have a clear choice: change their recipe or pay for the health harm caused.
“Aligning the levy threshold with advertising and promotion rules is a sensible move, giving industry one consistent benchmark and making it easier to do business.”
Dr Kawther Hashem, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and Head of Research and Impact at Action on Salt and Sugar, says: “We welcome today’s announcement and are pleased to see further progress on tackling excessive sugar consumption. Lowering the threshold from 5g to 4.5g per 100ml is a positive step, and expanding the levy to include milk-based drinks is particularly important. Some milkshakes still contain more sugar than a can of full-sugar cola, yet they have been allowed to sit outside a levy specifically designed to reduce high sugar content. Closing this loophole finally ensures that all high-sugar drinks are treated consistently, regardless of their ingredients.
“However, we had hoped the Government would go further. The consultation explored reducing the minimum sugar threshold to 4g, so it’s unclear why this has now risen to 4.5g. Our own submission showed a median sugar content of 4.2g/100ml in soft drinks. We found nearly three-quarters of drinks already fall below 4g/100ml, so today’s decision misses an opportunity to drive further meaningful reformulation. We also called on the Government to create a new upper tier for drinks exceeding 10g of sugar per 100ml, targeting the major brands that have refused to reduce sugar in their high sugar drinks. This would have prevented companies that choose not to reformulate from gaining an unfair advantage over those actively investing in sugar reduction.
“We know the levy works, and when the rules are clear and consistent, manufacturers act fast. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already taken billions of teaspoons of sugar out of the UK diet without holding back industry growth. Today’s move builds on that progress, but if we’re truly committed to improving the nation’s health and the nation’s teeth, we’ll need to be even more ambitious.”
Helen Kirrane, Head of Policy, Campaigns & Mobilisation at Diabetes UK, said: “With cases of type 2 diabetes continuing to rise at an alarming rate, particularly in younger people, we need bold action to cut unnecessary sugar from food and drink.
“The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has already substantially reduced the sugar in soft drinks, lowering the amount of sugar consumed by children. Expanding it to include milk-based and milk-alternative drinks, which can contain large amounts of hidden sugar, is a welcome step forward.
“We know that, for many people, it can be overwhelming to navigate such a wide range of products, and it’s not always clear what is good for us. This change will help ensure the healthier choice is the easier choice.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “The more sugar cut from drinks on supermarket shelves, the better, so extending the levy to include sugary milk-based drinks is the right thing to do. The current levy has been extremely effective at incentivising manufacturers to reduce sugar levels in soft drinks, and evidence has shown free sugar consumption in children and adults has decreased.
“Diets high in sugar are linked to weight gain and obesity, which increase the risk cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. We hope this move motivates manufacturers to cut the amount of sugar in milk-based drinks and going forward, we need to keep up the pace of progress so families have far more healthy choices available to them.”
Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “We welcome the UK Government taking stronger action on sugary drinks by extending the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to milk-based products and lowering the sugar threshold. These steps will help cut sugar consumption, support healthier choices, and ultimately reduce the risk of cancer – something Cancer Research UK has long called for.
“Bold measures like this, alongside commitments on junk food advertising and healthy food standards, must now be delivered in full and enforced properly to create healthier environments for everyone.”
Dev, Bite Back Youth Activist said: “This is great news from the Government, especially because it finally tackles sugary milkshakes and other milk-based drinks. The amount of sugar in these products has been completely outrageous, and young people like me have been saying it for years. We’re targeted with these drinks everywhere — in supermarkets, on our streets, and across our socials — so this is a really important step. But it can’t stop here. We need this to be part of a bigger package that also strengthens advertising rules online, on TV and outdoors. Big food companies have been given long lead times before and used them to delay and lobby their way out of action. That can’t happen again. Young people will be watching closely.”
Professor Nicola Heslehurst, President of the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO), said: “This announcement builds on a strong body of evidence showing that the Soft Drinks Industry Levy has substantially reduced sugar levels in drinks through reformulation, supporting improvements in children’s health without limiting consumer choice. Extending the levy to sugary milk-based drinks, and aligning the threshold with the latest Nutrient Profiling Model, reflects SACN’s clear advice on free sugars and provides consistency for industry. Reformulation remains one of the most effective population-wide strategies for reducing excess sugar intake. These changes give manufacturers clarity and sufficient time to adapt, supporting a healthier food environment for children and families.”
