A 20 per cent rise in the retail value of sugary drinks could generate a total of $814 million a year within Australia alone.

In his first address to the National Press Club, Australian Medical Association President, Dr Omar Khorshid, has called for a tax on sugary drinks in a bid to save lives and tackle diabetes.

“Sugar is bad for you,” he said. “It’s the most addictive and harmful substance in our society and we need to reduce its consumption in order to reduce those chronic diseases that we know it’s associated.”

More than 2.4 billion litres of sugary drinks are consumed every year in Australia.

The AMA believes sugar is becoming the cigarettes of the generation.

“We’ve been successful with tobacco and we’d like to start that conversation now with the community that sugary drinks are bad for you and we need to work on reducing our consumption,” Dr Khorshid told Oliver Peterson.

More than 45 jurisdictions across the world have already implemented tax on sugar sweetened beverages.

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