As the days tick buy to the budget on 20 March, how many people think it will be a good time to bring in an entirely new tax to make hundreds of products on the shelves more expensive?

But that is exactly what more than 60 organisations have called on chancellor George Osborne to do when he gets out his famous red box, with demands for a new tax on drinks high in sugar content, which they claim could generate £1bn a year to fund child health projects.

And it would be foolish to dismiss the momentum that appears to be growing behind the plan.

While the signals coming from Westminster suggest ministers have gone very cold on the idea of a fat tax - in the wake of Osborne’s infamous pasty gate fiasco last time around - some in the soft drinks industry fear the appeal of a tax more targeted at childhood obesity may be seen as more of a vote winner.

Last week health minister Anna Soubry made it clear that she didn’t believe moves by leading drinks manufacturers, such as GSK, Coke and Pepsi, have gone far enough to satisfy the government and warned that regulation could be on the cards unless the industry did more to tackle obesity.

Labour has gone much further and said it will regulate if it gets into power.

As one executive at a leading drinks supplier puts it: “Things seem like they are about to get pretty ugly.”

As well as rightly pointing out that the industry is already a major provider of funds to the treasury - with 10p out of every 60p can of drink already going to the nation’s coffers - those companies potentially in the firing line need to look at their record of reformulations and development.

Many have been making huge strides in developing lower or zero calorie alternatives and it’s not only in recent times. March also represents the 30th anniversary of Diet Coke, one of a raft of what have become top-selling products developed by the very same industry that finds itself under attack.

Like Coke has done in the States the industry will also want to point out that products like fizzy drinks are not alone in causing obesity, with lack of exercise, education, parental responsibility and poverty all in the mix.

But there surely also has to be an acceptance that the industry must do even more to promote healthy alternatives and that may mean some companies having to step up a gear or two.

As Soubry herself said last week, she wants the industry to provide strong evidence of its track record to stave off those calling for regulation and convince the likes of Osborne and the PM that weapons like a sugar tax are best left in the box. It’s time to start making the case for the defence.

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