The UK government will widen the soft drinks industry levy to cover more high-sugar beverages, including certain milk-based and plant-based drinks with added sugar, from 1 January 2028.
The levy, introduced in 2018 as a measure to address obesity, is an excise duty on pre-packaged drinks containing added sugar above set thresholds.
Following a consultation launched in April on extending the regime, ministers have confirmed the charge will be expanded to products that had previously been outside its scope.
From 2028, the levy will cover pre-packaged supermarket milkshakes, flavoured milks, sweetened yoghurt drinks, chocolate milk drinks and ready-to-drink coffees.
Unsweetened plain milk and milk alternatives will remain exempt.
Drinks sold in cafés and restaurants in open containers will continue to fall outside the levy, which is imposed on manufacturers and importers.
The sugar threshold for liability will fall from 5g to 4.5g per 100ml, potentially bringing more products into the system unless recipes are altered.
Beverages containing between 4.5g and 7.9g of sugar per 100ml will stay in the lower band at £1.94 ($2.55) per ten litres, while those with 8g or more per 100ml will remain in the higher band at £2.59 per ten litres.
Government estimates suggest the changes could cut daily intake by 17 million calories across the population and avert almost 14,000 adult and nearly 1,000 child obesity cases, alongside close to £1bn in projected health and economic benefits.
Officials note that sugar levels in levy-covered drinks have fallen by almost half between 2015 and 2024, with linked falls in tooth-decay-related hospital admissions in young children.
Italy, meanwhile, has postponed its planned sugar tax on soft drinks again, now to January 2026.
UK Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “An unhealthy start to life holds kids back from day one, especially those from poor backgrounds like mine. We’re on a mission to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, and that means taking on the biggest drivers of poor health.
“The levy has already shown that when industry cuts sugar levels, children’s health improves. So, we’re going further.”
