Discovery keeps giving.
Help us carry it forward.

Discovery lifesaving care

Breathing is everything.

4.2 million

children with severe pneumonia were estimated to need oxygen each year in low- and middle-income countries.

Up to 122,000 childhood pneumonia deaths could be prevented annually by strengthening oxygen supplies.

Discovery industry public revenue

Small bubbles. Lasting impact.

£327 million

in UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy receipts in 2024–25 alone, according to provisional HMRC figures.

Priestley’s carbonation experiments form part of the history of the modern drinks industry. The levy applies to qualifying sugary drinks, including still drinks; it is public revenue, not income paid to our family or Institute.

Carbonation in everyday life · UK, 2025

From an experiment
to billions of litres.

6.161 billion

litres of carbonated drinks sold in the UK in 2025, with a sales value of £12.048 billion.

BSDA’s category excludes energy drinks and sparkling water. This measures drinks sold, not the number of individual people drinking them.

Public finance · worldwide

Revenue with
a public purpose.

WHO reported in December 2023 that 108 countries taxed at least some sugar-sweetened beverages. These taxes can raise public revenue while supporting health policy.

Tax rates, coverage and spending differ between countries. The figure covers sugary beverages, not only fizzy drinks; no single global total of receipts is established here.