The sugar tax has “worked like nothing else” in reducing sugar consumption, the HSE has said. 

The Sugar Sweetened Drinks Tax was introduced in 2018 and applies to drinks with a total sugar content of five grams or more per 100 millilitres.

The aim is to reduce people’s consumption of sugary drinks by making them more expensive - thus reducing rates of obesity. 

The Irish Heart Foundation has called for the tax to be increased and HSE Obesity Lead Donal O’Shea said he agrees. 

“The sugar tax has worked like nothing else in terms of driving reformulation of sugar sweetened drinks and generating income,” he told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“What we see now, after a few years of the sugar tax, is it is generating about 30 million a year [in revenue] and the majority of that is coming from very high sugar energy drinks - like Monster, like Red Bull. 

“They’re mostly consumed by younger people and we know the socio-economic gradient in consumers. 

“We know that people don’t have an apple when they have an energy drink; they have it with a packet of crisps or biscuits. 

“You see this in the shops at lunchtime when kids go in from school to buy lunch.” 

C48DP5 A mix os RockStar, Monster, AMP and Red Bull energy drinks.

Dr O’Shea said the popularity of energy drinks has increased recently - with some young people willing to pay as much as €15 for a single bottle. 

“They’re being driven by the social media marketing that’s targeting younger people,” he said. 

“They drive a general pattern of consumption that fills your diet with high fat, high salt, high sugar products.

"Even if you’re considered to be a normal weight, you have a very poor nutrient status if that’s where you’re getting the majority of your calories from.” 

He added the description of them as an ‘energy drink’ was a complete misnomer and should be avoided by people concerned about their health. 

“There’s absolutely no roll for these drinks in terms with their links with sporting performance,” he said. 

“They don’t improve performance. 

“The marketing would like you to think it does, pretends it does, celebrities associate brands with it but they do not enhance performance and long-term they’re detrimental to your performance.”

Main image: Paper cones with sugar cubes in one and money in the other. Picture by: Alamy.com