Sugar tax ‘could increase amount of alcohol that we drink’

A new study suggests that the introduction of the sugar tax on soft drinks could have the unintended consequence of driving up alcohol consumption.

Experts examined if price hikes to soft drinks could lead to higher rates of purchase for other drinks – such as alcohol.

The model used data from the expenditure of 32,000 British households in 2012/13 and analysed six million drinks purchases including milk, juice, high-sugar drinks and alcohol.

The experts found that people from poorer homes were more likely to buy high-sugar drinks and spirits while richer homes were more likely to buy juices and wine.

Taking this model in to account it would indicate that an increase in the cost of diet or low-sugar drinks could lead to hikes in the sales of beer, cider and wines.

But an increase in the price of medium-sugar drinks could actually reduce sales of alcoholic drinks, according to the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

For more on this story visit metro