| ■ Tax on Unhealthy Foods Would Save Thousands of Lives: U.K. Study | 07.07.17 |
| A 17.5 percent tax on fatty, sugary or salty foods would prevent more than 3,000 fatal heart attacks and strokes a year in the U.K., a decline of 1.7 percent, says an Oxford University study. The authors of the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, said their findings demonstrate that the time is right to debate a "fat tax" in the U.K., BBC News reported. "The other thing which would have to be done is to look at the possibility of subsidies for healthier foods, rather than simply looking at increases in tax," said researcher Dr. Mike Rayner. For this study, Rayner and his colleagues used economic data to predict how a tax would reduce consumption of unhealthy foods. The British Heart Foundation does not yet support the idea of taxing unhealthy foods, spokeswoman Maura Gillespie told BBC News. "The debate on unhealthy diets is important as it is estimated that 30 percent of deaths from coronary heart disease are caused by unhealthy diets," Gillespie said. "Further evidence is needed on the effect of targeted food taxes before we can support a 'fat tax'." |