20% sugar tax on Sugary Drinks - would it stop you buying them?

Georgiegirl256

No, I'd cut down but not completely

Do you mean fizzy drinks or sugary drinks? As has already been said, there is a difference. A clarification on that would be handy.

SailorSam

I never buy fizzy drinks

busiscoming2

I buy them extremely rarely. We have a bottle of coca cola at Christmas as a treat! The only time we might have fizzy drinks is on holiday.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Loving your replies.

We've updated the title to sugary drinks and added a "I don't buy them anyway" option into the poll.

Vote away

Personally, at home we do distinguish between fizzy and sugary.

I rarely buy fizzy drinks for myself or the kids to drink at home, because I don't like them that much and they're bad for you. I let the kids drink them outside the house e.g., at a party or as a treat at a restaurant.

My kids know that while they like them they are bad for you, and I'm teaching them they need to drink them in moderation, which is the key factor. I feel if I completely stop them doing it they may go overboard later in life.

Also, this is by no means scientific but I've noticed if one of my kids wets the bed at night (rarely) it's sometimes been after drinking lemonade in the afternoon. As I said, not scientific at all, just something I saw a link with on the few occasions they've had lemonade.

I do buy fruit juices (not from concentrate) every few weeks though, because it's an easy way to get them their 5 a day.

I rarely have squash/cordial in the house too. They've been brought up on milk and water, as dentists advised when I had my first child.

Something I found particularly telling was at a talk one did at a parents group I went to several years ago. She said she didn't know why supermarkets sold squash but there must be a demand for it or they wouldn't sell it.

*max*

I only drink fizzy drinks as a mixer, and they're always sugar-free.

It's not a bad idea, considering the harm sugary drinks do to teeth and health. They should be a very occasional treat if you're going to have them, especially for children. It's awful to see toddlers being handed cans of coke/juice drinks instead of water or milk.

Jagraf

I don't buy them now

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Loving your replies.

We've updated the title to sugary drinks and added a "I don't buy them anyway" option into the poll.

Vote away

Personally, at home we do distinguish between fizzy and sugary.

I rarely buy fizzy drinks for myself or the kids to drink at home, because I don't like them that much and they're bad for you. I let the kids drink them outside the house e.g., at a party or as a treat at a restaurant.

My kids know that while they like them they are bad for you, and I'm teaching them they need to drink them in moderation, which is the key factor. I feel if I completely stop them doing it they may go overboard later in life.

Also, this is by no means scientific but I've noticed if one of my kids wets the bed at night (rarely) it's sometimes been after drinking lemonade in the afternoon. As I said, not scientific at all, just something I saw a link with on the few occasions they've had lemonade.

I do buy fruit juices (not from concentrate) every few weeks though, because it's an easy way to get them their 5 a day.

I rarely have squash/cordial in the house too. They've been brought up on milk and water, as dentists advised when I had my first child.

Something I found particularly telling was at a talk one did at a parents group I went to several years ago. She said she didn't know why supermarkets sold squash but there must be a demand for it or they wouldn't sell it.

Sugar free squash is better than kids not getting any water, I think. Sugar free lemon squash is very thirst quenching for our family.

GracieP

I don't drink them much but when I do it's always the sugary version. I'm well aware of the dangers of sugar but I'll take that any day over the majority of chemical sweetners on the market like aspartame which I avoid completely.

tgroom57

I don't buy them now

I do wish the govt would stop tinkering.
I'd love to see the results of a similar poll regarding caffeine supplements- including more than 4 cups coffee a day, proplus supplements, canned fizzy caffeine drinks etc.

Tigsteroonie

No, I'll take the "hit"!

We occasionally buy fizzy, sugary drinks. Adding VAT to the price won't make much difference to our expenditure (when considered as a %age of our annual food cost) so I cannot see it making us less likely to buy.

Littl'un doesn't even like fizzy or sugary drinks. He'll occasionally deign to have sugar-free squash, but it's water most times.

onlyroz

I don't buy them now

I never buy full sugar fizzy drinks. I usually buy a few bottles of Cola zX a week (the Aldi version of Pepsi Max), and also the occasional bottle of diet lemonade. I also always go for the sugar-free squash.

I'm aware that some say artificial sweeteners are not that good for you either, but if it's a choice between sugar and aspartame I'll take the aspartame in moderation - better for your waistline and better for your teeth.