Fat tax or lean discount

Attacking obesity through a fat tax has actually been attempted in the U.K., and now a study from Oxford University suggest expansion of the surcharge on fatty and sugary foods could save more than 3,200 lives a year.

From the Reuters story:

A "fat tax" on salty, sugary and fatty foods could save thousands of lives each year, according to a study published on Thursday.
Researchers at Oxford University say that charging Value Added Tax (VAT) at 17.5 percent on foods deemed to be unhealthy would cut consumer demand and reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes.
The purchase tax is already levied on a small number of products such as potato crisps, ice cream, confectionery and chocolate biscuits, but most food is exempt.
The move could save an estimated 3,200 lives in Britain each year, according to the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The team from Oxford's Department of Public Health said higher taxes have already been imposed on cigarettes and alcohol to encourage healthy living.
They used a mathematical formula to estimate the effect of higher prices on the demand for foods such as pastries, cakes, cheese and butter.
Any "fat tax" might be seen as an attack on personal freedom and would weigh more heavily on poorer families, the study warned.
A food tax would raise average weekly household bills by 4.6 percent or 67 pence per person.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has previously rejected the idea as an example of the "nanny state" that might push people away from healthy food.
The Food and Drink Federation has called the proposed tax patronizing and says it would hit low-income families hardest.
It suggests that people eat a balanced diet.


TK: No surprise that The Food and Drink Federation is against this, but note the British Heart Foundation also does not support this tax. Its stance: "We believe the government should focus on ensuring healthy foods are financially and geographically accessible to everyone." As with the immigration issue, the temptation is to look at enforcement first - in this case penalizing bad food choices. However, the governments of all advanced societies need to first look at promoting healthy food choices at the youngest ages, first by expanding availability of fruits and vegetables in schools and also by restricting access to junk food at schools. A fat tax may do the campaign for healthy eating more harm than good because of the backlash that would result.