The U.K.'s Coming Sugar Tax Is Already Working

Sugar hasn’t just played its part in Britain’s reputation for tea, cakes and bad teeth; it’s also a major contributor to the country’s obesity and diabetes crisis. A U.K. parliamentary briefing paper published last week lays it bare: Over a quarter of the population are now classified as obese — the second highest rate in Europe after Hungary and the sixth highest in the world. There are nearly 3.7 million diagnosed diabetics in the country, according to Diabetes U.K. Related costs to the National Health Service are in the ballpark of $200 million per week, pretty close to the amount the U.K. spends on its EU membership fee each week after rebates.

It’s an issue you might think would weigh on the mind of Prime Minister Theresa May, herself a diabetic, though not a known sugar addict. In fact, May has been, at best, a part-time flagbearer for sugar intake reduction, having scrapped such a tax as one of her first moves in 2016, a cave-in to heavy industry pressure. That will hopefully change this April, when a tax on sugary products — announced last year by Chancellor Philip Hammond as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy — comes into effect.