Staying vigilant

As a dental professional, you often witness first-hand the impact that a poor diet can have on a person’s oral health. Several months ago, before the change in leadership, the government expressed interest in scraping the sugar tax and certain anti-obesity measures and policies, which have been put in place to reduce the burden of health issues on the nation and the National Health Service (NHS). Had this materialised, what would the implications for the dental sector have looked like?

A closer look

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), charges manufacturers, packagers and importers around £0.24 per litre for drinks with over 8g of sugar per 100ml, £0.18 per litre for drinks with five to eight grams of sugar per 100ml, nothing for milk-based drinks and fruit juices, which are exempt from the SDIL.¹ A study found that the SDIL was associated with a ‘considerable’ impact on the amount of sugar in soft drinks.¹ Researchers noted that one year following the implementation of the SDIL, the volume of soft drinks purchased did not change, however, the sugar purchased in these drinks did reduce by 30g per household per week. This is the equivalent of around three fewer teaspoons of sugar.²