The British Government has banned the sale and use of plastic straws, drink stirrers, as well as cotton buds with plastic stems in England from April 2020.
The move which has been planned for over a year is meant to reduce environmental litter and other impacts caused by over five billion plastic straws, 300 million stirrers and nearly two billion cotton buds with plastic stems used in the UK every year.
The United Kingdom on Friday became the latest country to join a growing list of countries that have enacted ‘sugar tax’ laws on sweetened beverages as a way to fight obesity among children which is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases later in life such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes among others.
The UK is said to have the highest level of obesity in Western Europe.
Lucozade and Ribena, two famous brands of Japanese Food and Beverage Company, Suntory said it will cut 50% of the sugar content in its drinks in the UK and Ireland by next summer. The announcement comes ahead of a proposed sugar tax on sweetened beverages set to go into effect in both countries in 2018.
The company said it would reformulate all its drinks to contain less than 4.5g of total sugar per 100ml – the equivalent of one teaspoon. Currently, the drinks contain 13g and 10g of sugar per 100ml serving respectively.
The UK government on Thursday unveiled its plan for a sugar tax on sweetened beverages as it seeks consultations from stakeholders.
The Soft Drinks Industry levy as it would be known seeks to tackle childhood obesity. It was first announced in March as part of the 2016 budget and will come into effect in April 2018.
