“Tax sugary drinks to protect children’s teeth”

In the UK, sugar consumption has increased 31 per cent since 1990 and now contributes 12 to 15 per cent of total energy intake, yet the Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) says this should be no more than five per cent. The Faculty endorses the use of a ‘sugar tax’ as part of a programme of measures to help tackle a wide range of sugar related illnesses, including tooth decay (particularly among children), obesity, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

Tooth decay, the softening and eventual loss of tooth enamel resulting in cavities, is caused by acid produced when sugar and oral bacteria combine. One in eight three year olds has tooth decay, rising to one in three 12 year olds, and nearly two thirds of 15 year olds have or have had decay. Around 67,000 children a year have teeth removed under general anaesthetic, and tooth extraction is the number one reason why young children are admitted to hospital.