Jamie Oliver has challenged New Zealand to introduce a sugar tax in his crusade to tackle obesity.
The celebrity chef has posted a video on his Facebook page following the introduction of a 25p (53c) per litre tax on sugary soft drinks by UK Chancellor George Osborne. The tax, which will come in from 2018, could add 8p (17c) to the price of cans of fizzy drinks such as Coca-Cola, 7Up and Irn Bru, energy drinks like Red Bull and carton juice drinks like Ribena from 2018.
"This is about the single largest source of sugar in our kids' diet in the UK, being sugary and sweet drinks," he said. "This is bold and brave and this will send ripples around the world, as far as how these weak pathetic governments combat the rise of childhood obesity."
He added: "Many countries like New Zealand are on the brink of taking action on obesity in the form of a sugary drink tax.
"Let's see if they can now follow Britain's lead."