How much will YOUR favourite fizzy drink cost?

The long-awaited sugar tax finally came into play this morning.

Manufacturers have bumped the prices of some of their best-selling soft drinks in response to the Government’s move.

Firms now have to pay a levy of 18p a litre if their drinks contain more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, or 24p a litre if more than 8g.

The Government and health campaigners hope the higher prices will put people off buying the most sugar-laden drinks. 

MailOnline has today broken down what the sugar tax means to consumers – calculating roughly how much prices will go up.

Firms now have to pay a levy of 18p a litre if their drinks contain more than 5g of sugar per 100ml, or 24p a litre if more than 8g

Pepsi and Coca Cola refused to slash the sugar content in their classic drinks over fears of a consumer backlash. 

As a result, the two drinks are subject to the heavier levy – meaning they will have to pay 24p extra per litre to the Treasury.

In real terms, this means the 330ml cans of Pepsi – 11g of sugar per 100ml – and Coca Cola – 10.6g sugar per 100ml – will go up by 8p. They cost in the region of 70p.

Red Bull, which contains 11g of sugar, will also be subject to the higher tax. Its 250ml cans, which usually retail for around the £1.20 mark, will now cost 6p more. 

Dr Pepper will have a slashed sugar content because of the new tax.

Its new recipe has taken it down from 10.3g of sugar per 100ml to 7.2g – meaning it will be subject to the lower sugar tax. 330ml cans will rise by roughly 6p.

The formulas of Fanta, Ribena, Sprite and Irn Bru have all been changed to avoid their manufacturers being stung by the sugar tax.

Fanta dropped from 6.9g of sugar per 100ml to 4.6g, while Ribena cut its content from 9.9g to just 4.5g. 

Pepsi and Coca Cola refused to slash the sugar content in their classic drinks over fears of a consumer backlash

Pepsi and Coca Cola refused to slash the sugar content in their classic drinks over fears of a consumer backlash

WHAT IS THE SUGAR TAX? 

What is the sugar tax?

From April 6, soft drinks companies will be required to pay a levy on drinks with added sugar.

Why are the Government introducing the tax? 

The move aims to help tackle childhood obesity. Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are now the single biggest source of dietary sugar for children and teenagers.

It is hoped the tax will encourage drinks companies to cut down on the amount of sugar in drinks, and consumers to choose lower sugar alternatives.  

How much is the tax? 

Companies will have to pay 18p per litre of drink if the product contains more than 5g of sugar per 100 millilitres and 24p per litre if it contains 8g of sugar per 100 millilitres.

Prices of popular drinks may rise and the size of portions shrink as a result. 

Will it apply to all drinks?

The new levy will not be paid on milk-based drinks and fruit juices.

However George Osborne, who unveiled the tax policy as chancellor, has predicted that the tax will be extended to include milkshakes with large quantities of sugar. 

Sprite cut its sugar content from 6.6g per 100ml to 3.3g, while Irn Bru more than halved its sugar, going from 10.3g to 4.7g.

But Irn-Bru fans started a petition in January and stockpiled the drink when it announced it was cutting sugar from in response to the levy.

Sugar-free drinks such as Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero will be exempt from the levy. 

Tesco has reformulated all of its own-label soft drinks to come in below the threshold for the levy, as have Morrisons, Asda and The Co-op. 

Health campaigners hope the tax will mark the start of a more ambitious government obesity policy, including tighter measures to regulate the advertising of junk food. 

Funds raised by the sugar tax will be diverted into school sports, the Government insists.

But dentists are calling for a portion of the estimated £280 million it will generate in 2018/19 to be spent on promoting oral health.

Coca-Cola Great Britain said: ‘There is no evidence from anywhere in the world that shows taxing soft drinks reduces obesity rates.

‘We were reformulating our drinks to reduce their sugar content for many years before the tax was announced, we’ve done 34 reformulations since 2005, and there is ample data which shows that the sugar people consume from soft drinks has declined significantly over the last decade and continues to do so. 

‘As that has happened, obesity rates have continued to rise.’

It comes after shocking Public Health England figures revealed one child has a rotten tooth removed every 10 minutes in hospital.

Pepsi, Red Bull and Coca Cola refused to slash the sugar content in their classic drinks over fears of a consumer backlash

Pepsi, Red Bull and Coca Cola refused to slash the sugar content in their classic drinks over fears of a consumer backlash

The Government has said the tax is already working, with over 50 per cent of manufacturers reducing the sugar content of drinks since the levy was announced in March 2016

The Government has said the tax is already working, with over 50 per cent of manufacturers reducing the sugar content of drinks since the levy was announced in March 2016

More than 60,000 children had teeth extracted in hospital last year – the equivalent to 141 operations a day.

It was the biggest single cause of hospital admissions for 5-to-9-year-olds, who accounted for over 42 per cent of cases, despite being largely preventable. 

Too much sugar is one of the leading causes of both tooth decay and childhood obesity with a third of youngsters now overweight.

Experts say cutting down on sugar would drive down obesity and slash hospital admissions.

The Government recommends four-to-six year-olds have no more than 19g or five teaspoons of sugar a day, and seven- to ten-year- olds to consume no more than 24g a day, or six teaspoons.

But the recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed under-11s consume more than three times these limits – 14 teaspoons or 54g a day – with 15 per cent coming from soft drinks.  



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk