On the 16th March 2016, the United Kingdom HM Treasury announced a levy on drinks with added sugars that will come into force on April 2018. IDF welcomes this very important initiative by the government of the UK, which with this measure now joins countries such as Mexico, France, Norway and South Africa in the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages.  

Diabetes is one of the largest global health emergencies of this century, and its life-changing complications have a disproportionate human and economic impact in our societies. In 2015:

•  More than 415 million people had diabetes worldwide;
•  5 million people died from diabetes-related complications;
•  The management of diabetes and its complications placed an enormous financial burden on millions of individuals and its families, due to the cost of essential medicines and technologies;
•  The diabetes impact on national health systems continued growing, reaching an expenditure of $673 billion – 12% of the global health expenditure.

Read full press release in the link below.