Health Committee recommends Sugar Tax – The Commons Health Committee, made up of MPs from the Conservatives, Labour and the SNP, has released its long awaited report on childhood obesity today. It said, “the scale and consequences of childhood obesity demand bold and urgent action from Government” and has recommended a number of measures, including the introduction of the controversial ‘sugar tax’. This would come as a 20% levy on sugary drinks. David Cameron and Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, have both previously opposed the sugar tax, with the Prime Minister saying there are more effective ways to tackle childhood obesity.
The report found that one third of all children leaving primary school are obese or overweight, and the poorest children are twice as likely to be obese. The cost of obesity on the NHS is estimated to be £5.1 billion per year, while the UK spends just £638 million on programmes to prevent obesity. The report makes clear that, although information campaigns and promoting physical exercise are important, “the Government should not lose sight of the clear evidence that measures to improve the food environment to reduce calorie intake must lie at the heart of a successful strategy.”
One of the arguments against the sugar tax, is that it will be regressive. At 20%, the tax is expected to raise £1 billion, with this hitting the poorest families the hardest. The report claimed that this was not the point of the tax, but the idea is to “nudge people away from purchasing [taxed sugary drinks] towards purchasing things that are more in keeping with a healthy balanced diet.” As it is factually true that poorer kids are more likely to be obese, those families would be worse off if shopping habits were not to change after the introduction of the sugar tax, but the whole point of the tax is to change shopping habits to move consumers away from sugary drinks. All revenue raised from the tax would go directly to measures to improve children’s health.
Other measures recommended by the Commons Health Committee include:
- Strong controls on price promotions of unhealthy food and drink
- Tougher controls on marketing and advertising of unhealthy food and drink
- A centrally led reformulation programme to reduce sugar in food and drink
- Labelling of single portions of products with added sugar to show sugar content in teaspoons
- Improved education and information about diet
- Universal school food standards
- Greater powers for local authorities to tackle the environment leading to obesity
- Early intervention to offer help to families of children affected by obesity and further research into the most effective interventions.
