A majority of people in Britain want new taxes imposed on companies that make either junk food or ultra-processed foodstuffs to help tackle the obesity crisis, polling suggests.
The findings prompted calls for ministers to help people eat healthier diets by putting a sugar tax-style levy on sweets, cereals, pizzas and other products containing too much salt or sugar.
In a survey by Ipsos for the Health Foundation thinktank, 58% of those questioned said they backed the introduction of a tax on organisations that produce foods high in sugar or salt, with some of the revenue to be used to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for poor families.
Ipsos found that a smaller proportion of people, but still a majority (53%) favoured imposing a tax on companies that produce ultra-processed food, such as ham, biscuits and mass-produced bread, with some of the proceeds raised to be deployed to help low-income households eat better.
On taxing junk food producers, only 19% of the representative sample of 2,136 UK adults were opposed to the idea and 20% said they did not know. A larger number (24%) were opposed to ultra-processed food manufacturers facing taxes while 21% did not know.
Responding to the 58% backing for taxes on makers of sugary and salty products, Adam Briggs, a senior policy fellow and public health expert at the Health Foundation, said: “The new government should be emboldened by this type of polling and understand that this [idea] is something that does enjoy broad support and is likely to lead to important health benefits. The public are basically saying: it’s time for tough action.”
Labour’s manifesto pledges on obesity – to ban the advertising of junk food to children before the 9pm TV watershed and the sale of energy drinks to the under-16s – were not enough given the huge damage being inflicted by the epidemic of excess weight, Briggs said.
Obesity is costing the UK an estimated £98bn a year, including a £6.5bn bill for the NHS for treating illnesses linked to being overweight, such as heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and joint problems.
A sugar tax-style levy should initially be imposed on confectionery, cakes and biscuits, sugary breakfast cereals, sweetened yogurts and crisps but then extended to ready meals and pizzas, Briggs said – the latter two because of their high salt content.
The soft drinks industry levy, which was introduced by the Conservatives in 2018, has shown that taxing unhealthy products prompts many companies to reformulate them in order to avoid paying the tax and thus benefits public health.
The support for taxing makers of ultra-processed foods reflects rising public concern about their impact on health, which include a raised risk of heart problems, cancer and poor mental health.
Prof Carlos Monteiro, the scientist who first coined the term ultra-processed foods, recently suggested that they should carry tobacco-style warnings and also be taxed because of the danger they pose.
But Dr Chris van Tulleken, the author of the book Ultra-Processed People, said taxing individual products rather than that entire category of food was the best approach.
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“The companies that make UPF [ultra-processed food] privatise the benefits and externalise all these costs so whether we like it or not we will have to pick up the bill. Taxing the corporations that create the problem is fair and necessary so long as it is done with great care not to increase health inequalities,” he said.
“A blanket tax on UPF would be wrong and harmful. We can regulate individual products much more effectively.”
Responding to Ipsos’s findings, the Food and Drink Federation, which represents most food producers, said companies should be allowed to develop healthier products – such as by removing salt, sugar and calories and adding fibre, fruit and vegetables – rather than face taxes.
“Manufacturers are committed to continuing to work with government to tackle obesity and poor diets. How we do this hinges on how collectively we ensure that companies are investing in making food healthier,” a spokesperson said.
“Rather than taxes, we believe that supporting all sizes of companies to innovate in healthier products would deliver more and at better value for money.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Prevention is better than cure, which is why this government will make it our mission to shift the focus of healthcare from simply treating ill-health to preventing it in the first place.”