UK Sugar Tax - It's War!

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First they came for Lilt, Schweppes and R Whites Lemonade, and I did nothing. I stood by. Then they came for Fanta, I scoured for imports from Denmark, Holland and Northern Ireland. Then they came for Sprite, I switched to 7Up. Last autumn they came for 7Up, I am on my last few cans. Irn Bru, Old Jamaican Ginger Beer and Ribena have all succumbed to the enemy. Only Coca Cola and Pepsi stand.

I don't have the nerve to look at the Orangina bottles.

All of these have been ruined by artificial sweeteners, which I hate, loath and despise.
Even the supermarkets are poisoning their private label products.

I am going to create my own sodas, I may even go nuts and launch a Soda Company on Crowd Funding. This is war!
 
First they came for Lilt, Schweppes and R Whites Lemonade, and I did nothing. I stood by. Then they came for Fanta, I scoured for imports from Denmark, Holland and Northern Ireland. Then they came for Sprite, I switched to 7Up. Last autumn they came for 7Up, I am on my last few cans. Irn Bru, Old Jamaican Ginger Beer and Ribena have all succumbed to the enemy. Only Coca Cola and Pepsi stand.

I don't have the nerve to look at the Orangina bottles.

All of these have been ruined by artificial sweeteners, which I hate, loath and despise.
Even the supermarkets are poisoning their private label products.

I am going to create my own sodas, I may even go nuts and launch a Soda Company on Crowd Funding. This is war!
It's the nanny state.....ok, too much sugar in your diet is not good but these artificial sweeteners are poison as well as tasting just plain nasty.
Choice is what we want and choice is what we should be fighting for, lobby your local supermarkets, your MP and if none of that works create your own sodas, I really like the cream soda of years ago :).
 
I had it out with Sainsbury's a good few years back when they put aspartame into their Ginger Beer. Funnily enough, it reverted within a few months. I've not drunk much of it since.

Well, at least high capitalist Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola can still be bought in their full fat versions. Funnily enough, Mexican Coca Cola (basically the same recipe as us here in the UK) is thought of as a health tonic in the US as their own is so loaded with HFCS.

I don't really drink pop. I do like Ginger Beer but that's about it. Actually there is another I could happily drink a lot of and that's Kinnie. It's Maltese. Think Campari & Cola. Non-alcoholic.

You know what? I think craft Soda will become a thing ... and quite a big thing. We're already seeing a quite a bit with concentrates and with folks wanting posh Tonic and Cola for their expensive gins and rums, companies like Fever Tree and Fentiman's are really starting to get some traction.

Yeah, let the big corporates slide ...

Pay more, get the drink you want. Craft Soda for all! I'd like to see Sarsparilla make a comeback. No, really.
 
I had it out with Sainsbury's a good few years back when they put aspartame into their Ginger Beer. Funnily enough, it reverted within a few months. I've not drunk much of it since.

Well, at least high capitalist Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola can still be bought in their full fat versions. Funnily enough, Mexican Coca Cola (basically the same recipe as us here in the UK) is thought of as a health tonic in the US as their own is so loaded with HFCS.

I don't really drink pop. I do like Ginger Beer but that's about it. Actually there is another I could happily drink a lot of and that's Kinnie. It's Maltese. Think Campari & Cola. Non-alcoholic.

You know what? I think craft Soda will become a thing ... and quite a big thing. We're already seeing a quite a bit with concentrates and with folks wanting posh Tonic and Cola for their expensive gins and rums, companies like Fever Tree and Fentiman's are really starting to get some traction.

Yeah, let the big corporates slide ...

Pay more, get the drink you want. Craft Soda for all! I'd like to see Sarsparilla make a comeback. No, really.
I love that Fever Tree Indan Tonic Water with a splash of Gin. ( big splash) :) P.
 
All because obesity is on the increase. Shame they can't just tax obese people.
I personally just think the Treasury saw 500 million up for grabs. However, like the credit card surcharge fiasco it will back fire. The majority of products have been reformulated, sales will decline, employees will be cut and production may even move to Poland.
 
I personally just think the Treasury saw 500 million up for grabs. However, like the credit card surcharge fiasco it will back fire. The majority of products have been reformulated, sales will decline, employees will be cut and production may even move to Poland.
And I thought it was the government shitting themselves because of the millions they're going to have to pump into the NHS treating obesity related diseases in years to come.
 
And I thought it was the government shitting themselves because of the millions they're going to have to pump into the NHS treating obesity related diseases in years to come.
Why are only soft drinks targeted? Chocolates, sweets, cakes, ice creams all contribute to obesity. Unlike the soft drinks industry, these do not offer zero calorie alternatives. I haven't seen Mars or Kit Kat Zero.
 
And I thought it was the government shitting themselves because of the millions they're going to have to pump into the NHS treating obesity related diseases in years to come.
Artificial sweeteners are also linked to obesity. The tax income will be a lot lower, yet a potential carcinogen that fuels obesity has been increased in the food chain.
 
All because obesity is on the increase. Shame they can't just tax obese people.

... not their fault they're good consumers.

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Why are only soft drinks targeted? Chocolates, sweets, cakes, ice creams all contribute to obesity. Unlike the soft drinks industry, these do not offer zero calorie alternatives. I haven't seen Mars or Kit Kat Zero.

You do see those Nakd bars that pose themselves as the healthy alternative... no added sugar, just loaded with sugar from the fruits. But it's "natural". Huh! Sugar is sugar is sugar.

And I thought it was the government shitting themselves because of the millions they're going to have to pump into the NHS treating obesity related diseases in years to come.

The NHS will be nothing more than a brand name of some American health giant before long. I don't hold out any hope ... still, it's kinda like positive biofeedback. Only the strong and healthy will actually survive. I'm being ironic, in case anyone missed it.
 
I don't care too much if (refined) sugar comes at a premium. I don't ingest enough for it to 'affect' me, either physically, mentally or financially. Artificial sweeteners are a tricky subject. There are some tried and tested ones which can give rise to adverse effects in some (aspartame and it's metabolite phenylalanine). There are also some which are 'new' to the scene which cause marketers/doctors/general public a headache - e.g. Is sugar better? If so, why? If not, why?
Generally, sweeteners aren't metabolised by us pesky humans (or their metabolites aren't), which is why they're listed as '0-calorie'. I've not personally seen anything that unequivocally states that sugar is worse than sweeteners or vice versa.

It's like the whole '5 a day' debacle.
Statement #1: "Yes, 5 fruit and veg portions are great. We urge you to aim for 5 portions."
Statement #2: "You take too much sugar in with 5 fruit and veg. Don't eat 5 portions."

All that being said, I'm happy to eat 5 fruit and veg portions daily, and I feel I exercise enough to counter any potential excess sugar.

On an aside, I think, perhaps cynically, that Type II diabetes should create more stigma. Heck, it's been 'worse' (in the eyes of some) to be gay than it is to be diabetic - I don't mean Type I, of course. It's not your fault you have an autoimmune disease!
I heard an interesting discussion a little while back about distinguishing Type I and Type II diabetes more than we currently do, perhaps with a name change of the latter to 'lack of exercise syndrome' or similar, to really highlight the (usual) root cause.
 
I don't care too much if (refined) sugar comes at a premium. I don't ingest enough for it to 'affect' me, either physically, mentally or financially. Artificial sweeteners are a tricky subject. There are some tried and tested ones which can give rise to adverse effects in some (aspartame and it's metabolite phenylalanine). There are also some which are 'new' to the scene which cause marketers/doctors/general public a headache - e.g. Is sugar better? If so, why? If not, why?
Generally, sweeteners aren't metabolised by us pesky humans (or their metabolites aren't), which is why they're listed as '0-calorie'. I've not personally seen anything that unequivocally states that sugar is worse than sweeteners or vice versa.

It's like the whole '5 a day' debacle.
Statement #1: "Yes, 5 fruit and veg portions are great. We urge you to aim for 5 portions."
Statement #2: "You take too much sugar in with 5 fruit and veg. Don't eat 5 portions."

All that being said, I'm happy to eat 5 fruit and veg portions daily, and I feel I exercise enough to counter any potential excess sugar.

On an aside, I think, perhaps cynically, that Type II diabetes should create more stigma. Heck, it's been 'worse' (in the eyes of some) to be gay than it is to be diabetic - I don't mean Type I, of course. It's not your fault you have an autoimmune disease!
I heard an interesting discussion a little while back about distinguishing Type I and Type II diabetes more than we currently do, perhaps with a name change of the latter to 'lack of exercise syndrome' or similar, to really highlight the (usual) root cause.

Everything in moderation and as much exercise as you can manage if you are physically able to do so. I think this is a good rule of thumb. P. :)
 
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