24 Jun 2024 --- Nine German states are embracing the idea of a sugar tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), proposed by Germany’s Minister for Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) as a way to improve public health. Implementing the levy is estimated to save the country €16 billion (US$17.4 billion) in healthcare costs and productivity losses over the next 20 years. The states backing the soft drinks levy are Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Thuringia and Saarland.
