Romania is the latest country to implement a tax on sugary drinks.
The country’s plans to levy a tax on soft drinks, which it expects will raise in the order of 66 million Euros this year, brings it into line with fellow EU members like France and Portugal, and Mexico and Chile which also have similar levies in place.
In addition, a number of US states and cities have introduced so-called sugar taxes including Philadelphia, which has witnessed a significant drop in consumption of sugary drinks in both its adult and child populations, and Portland, Cleveland and Berkeley, California.
Ostensibly targeted at reducing obesity, the Romanian plan will also have a significant effect on peoples’ oral health, which is negatively impacted by the intake of too many sugary drinks.
Funds raised from the tax will be plowed back into health and education, part of a broader move to increase the health and wellbeing of Romanians.
