Sugar tax: What is the UK's most sugary drink?

[AlisonM]

The government is to tax soft drink manufacturers who put large amounts of sugar in their products. But which fizzy drinks have the highest levels?

The UK loves soft drinks. Altogether people got through 14.8 billion litres last year, or 232.9 litres each.

In response to growing concern over obesity, Chancellor George Osborne is imposing a levy on soft drinks with more than 5g of sugar per 100ml. There's a higher rate for those with more than 8g per 100ml. Fruit juice and milk-based drinks are exempt.

The Office for Budgetary Responsibility suggests the levy will add 18p or 24p per litre, or about 6p or 8p to a standard 330ml can.

Eek! I used to love the Old Jamaica Extra Fiery.😱

 

[Northerner]

Quite surprised at some of those lower sugar ones - I used to quite like Lilt and R Whites 🙂

 

[Robin]

Quite surprised at some of those lower sugar ones - I used to quite like Lilt and R Whites 🙂

R Whites used to be my favourite, but I think when sugar got more expensive than sweetener, they started adulterating it with the artificial stuff.

 

[AlisonM]

Dr Pepper was my favourite fizzy treat. I like the Zero better now though.

 

[Matt Cycle]

R Whites used to be my favourite, but I think when sugar got more expensive than sweetener, they started adulterating it with the artificial stuff.

A secret lemonade drinker?

 

[Northerner]

Elvis Costello's dad!

 

[Matt Cycle]

Elvis Costello's dad!

Apparently so, well the singing bit anyway. I'm not sure I'd fancy going to their house to eat - that fridge looks fairly bare apart from the five bottles of R Whites. There's no milk to have in your tea but you can have as much lemonade as you like. 😱

 

[trophywench]

Well that's the mistake isn't it?

When I was little - nothing fizzy at all. From age 11 - a large bottle of Limeade and a normal bottle of Lemonade a week between 4 of us - Gill and I used to drink most of the Limeade. I suppose that would be about a Litre, whereas a 'normal' bottle was what? c 70cl same as a bottle of wine? We hadn't gone metric back then - and it was only Cheetham's who made the large bottles, no-one else did. Only available from one nearby Off-Licence and discovered by one of my sister's friend's Dads one day. My ma & pa didn't visit nearby pubs at all though we might visit a pub once or twice on holiday as about the only place one might be able to get a sandwich at lunchtime!

Don't imagine that they were teetotal however - since they ALWAYS went to the Allotment Club on Saturdays where of course, we could also go with them. And naturally - Dad was Club Treasurer for years and could pull as good a pint as anyone! But 2 halves of bitter would last him all night, and Mom might have a Snowball if she wanted to push the boat out, otherwise a lime & lemon. (She wouldn't have dreamt of having been seen drinking a gin & orange 'out' LOL - only at home about 3 times a year!)

 

[Vicsetter]

When I was 8/9 ish we used to get the corona lorry come round every week to deliver pop. I fondly remember ice cream soda, dandelion and burdock and tizer, but i never had that much. My son used to be hooked on Dr Pepper and would wander round with a 2ltr bottle in his hand, luckily he is on a diet now and sticks to the diet version.

 

[Sally71]

When we were young my brother and I were allowed small bottles of pop from Sainsbury's, for a while we were trying out all the interesting flavours like limeade. My brother went through a spate of loving Cherryade - absolutely revolting sickly stuff, brilliant for hypos though according to mum!

 

[KookyCat]

The only fizz I've ever really liked enough to bother with was San pellegrino orange and San pellegrino lemon, pre diagnosis (right before diagnosis) when I was so thristy I could have drunk from a toilet bowl I used to have an ice cold lemon SP in a glass full of ice. It was heaven for the 20 minutes it took me to devour it, course felt like pants afterwards because I now know my blood sugar must have been through the roof. Haven't touched one since but had an accidental sip of Coke in a pub (having asked for diet) and nearly gagged. When I was a kid I had fruit juice and fizzy water, Apple as it happens, never had cordial, just a quarter juice, three quarters fizzy water. I like sharp things though, rather than sweet so I suppose that's why I never developed a taste. Quite a peculiar child really, wouldn't eat sweets either, aside from the odd polo, I'm reliably informed I still look like a scolded cat when chewing jelly babies, there's an involuntary startle reaction

 

[Northerner]

When I was 8/9 ish we used to get the corona lorry come round every week to deliver pop. I fondly remember ice cream soda, dandelion and burdock and tizer, but i never had that much. My son used to be hooked on Dr Pepper and would wander round with a 2ltr bottle in his hand, luckily he is on a diet now and sticks to the diet version.

Yup, I remember the Pop Lorry - we got two quarts a week, usually lemonade and American Cream Soda 🙂 6d back on the bottles. 🙂 No idea how much sugar was in them!