Quite why anyone would expect something different to happen is unknown:

Coca-Cola is to use smaller bottles and sell at higher prices rather than alter its famous sugar-laden secret recipe, while Irn-Bru faces a growing consumer backlash over fears a new lower sugar version will ruin Scotland’s national soft drink.

The changes are part of the preparations underway in the fizzy drinks business for the sugar tax. The cost of some “price marked packs” of Coca-Cola sold in newsagents and convenience stores will increase by more than 10% in March, just before the new tax comes into effect the following month.

The plans will see a 1.75 litre bottle of Coke shrink to 1.5 litres and at the same time increase in price by 20p to £1.99. The price of a 500ml bottle is also increasing, from £1.09 to £1.25. The new price means the cost of a half-litre bottle will have soared 25% in a matter of months, as they were just £1 until last autumn.

We fully expect to hear some bleatings that it really should be Big Soda who pay this tax, not the consumers. But then why would anyone expect that to happen? Such taxes are going to be incident upon consumers.

In fact, that's rather the point of the original campaign. People should be (note, we don't think so, but this is the justification on offer) consuming less sugar, let us make it more expensive via a tax so that they do so. Smaller bottles which are more expensive - that's the job done.

But as we say, we do expect there to be bleatings about this. That in some manner it shouldn't be us who should be paying this tax imposed upon us.