to be fair....they are doing more;
It is good to see now that packaging shows fat levels and salt levels in the product.
I for one do take note and adjust my purchases accordingly.
healthy eating is a lifestyle choice as is smoking.....apart from showing the information they do now....what else would you like to see.....I guess only other option would be something like if fat level was above 50% then the VAT was increased....be very difficult to police and administer I would guess !!!
I would always support anything done to promote a healthy lifestyle !!
It is not such a simple case to compare smoking and obesity.
Smoking is a lifestyle choice. However it affects others directly in the form of passive smoking.
Obesity, whilst not always a lifestyle choice, is all too often directly related to diet and exercise. However it is not possible to pile on the pounds because someone sat next to you is eating a pasty.
Partially agree it is a lifestyle choice to some extent, but when they stopped the adverts they quoted the likes of the Marlborough ads which depicted smoking as something real men do, men on horseback wrangling cattle in wild open surroundings.
Chocolate is absolutely pushed in your face in supermarkets, not only in the sweet section but hard to pass at the cigarette counter or even at the checkout itself.
Jelly sweets and so many more sugar full sweets are directly aimed at kids, giving toys away with fast food, creating characters to promote fast foods.
Smoking next to someone may be wrong but what about parents feeding their kids the worst of the foodstuffs and fatty snacks, it borders on child abuse and personally if my child was diagnosed as obese without any other medical grounds than that of over indulgence I would expect the authorities to take some form of action against me personally.
Health warnings on cigarettes doesn't work on those totally addicted why do people think that putting fat/salt levels on food products will make a difference to those that are obese through over indulgence ?
The government are doing a bit, just not enough.
Please remember I am not talking about carrying a few extra pounds or even being "large" I am talking about obesity, a life threatening condition that can lead to heart disease, heart failure, diabetes and more.
Do we do enough to help people who are obese ?
Smokers are getting a lot of help.
Eating to little is classed as an "eating disorder" diagnosed with Anorexia and you can expect a lot of help, the opposite is insulting ..... Glutton is the only word I know for someone who eats excessively, I am sure there is a more medical term like Anorexia but I never hear it used.
Both could be mental disorders, obsessions, inability to take control of your lifestyle, greed, desire for beauty, whatever the label or reasons shouldn't we help both sides ?
Well they can adopt some of the tactics they used on smoking can't they, big health warnings on wrappers, make the salt/fat warnings large enough to see, I can't read it on half the stuff I buy it is so small, regulate advertising better, allowing companies to say "approved by mums" has to be wrong.
Why not get really radical and support people who want to open a fast food franchise that will provide a well balanced product, Spud U Like for example, a baked potato with beans or coleslaw or cheese or prawns has to be better for kids than burgers and fries, albeit that everything in moderation is pretty harmless and everything in excess can be bad for you, so eating at spud u like every night can be as bad as eating too many burgers and fries. For once using toys to get the kids in might not be a bad idea, I remember as a child buying Mr Spud plastic bits like hats, eyes, moustache, noses etc so you could turn a potato into Mr Potato Head.
There are other fast foods that can be good for you.
Put a tax on the things that are really bad for you like salted crisps, heavily salted soup (we check the labels and it is amazing how much salt and fat is in some soups compared with others).
A lot of people eat healthily but a lot more people don't and those are the people that need help.
Much of the time those that need help are the people who buy the bad things because of price or time saving when in truth we all know that quick and simple meals cooked at home can be cheaper and more better for us than "handy" or take away meals, what is wrong with once a week serving Poached egg with a nice piece of fresh fish, boiled spuds and some peas or sweetcorn, most kids wouldn't find that unpalatable and it takes minutes.
I store my eggs for upto a year (after preparation) so that I always have a supply of fresh eggs in the cupboard, potatoes I roast and freeze in one batch, homemade soup is not only easy to make but excellent for using up leftovers.
I can prepare that meal in less time than it takes to use the McDonalds drive-thru and cheaper.
OK this is an American report but the facts remain the same just a lower % with a smaller population if your nation is a 10th the size of the US then your costs will be a 10th but your available resources will be a 10th most of the time.
Economic Impact of Obesity
Obesity exacts a tremendous price on overweight individuals, leading to serious chronic health conditions, disability, and psychological suffering. Society-wide, the economic burden of obesity is similarly substantial, calling for urgent preventive action from health insurers, businesses, government and other stakeholders.
Policy makers have long accepted that public intervention is appropriate when the consequences of individual decisions imposed on others—known in economics as externalities—lead to significant impact on society as a whole. The negative health effects of secondhand smoke are a good example of externalities being addressed by government intervention. Obesity imposes significant external costs on society through health care expenses and disability payments pooled through group health insurance and public programs.
National Healthcare Spending
Evidence on the considerable costs of obesity to individuals and society is rich. At the individual level, obesity is associated with health care costs that average about 40 percent above those for normal weight individuals. Overall, obesity-related direct and indirect economic costs exceed $100 billion annually, and the number is expected to grow. Despite these sobering statistics, the full effects of obesity trends since the 1980s are not yet fully apparent because health problems caused by weight gain take time to appear.
Obesity and the Workplace
Given the significant financial burden imposed by obesity, employers have a stake in reducing obesity in the workforce. Obese workers miss more days of work and cost employers more in medical and disability claims as well as workers compensation claims. As a result, an average firm with 1,000 employees faces $285,000 per year in extra costs associated with obesity. In addition to the costs of obesity to businesses, obese employees are subject to significant discrimination in the workplace due to weight stigma.
A UK report from dot org
Economic Impact of Obesity
Obesity exacts a tremendous price on overweight individuals, leading to serious chronic health conditions, disability, and psychological suffering. Society-wide, the economic burden of obesity is similarly substantial, calling for urgent preventive action from health insurers, businesses, government and other stakeholders.
Policy makers have long accepted that public intervention is appropriate when the consequences of individual decisions imposed on others—known in economics as externalities—lead to significant impact on society as a whole. The negative health effects of secondhand smoke are a good example of externalities being addressed by government intervention. Obesity imposes significant external costs on society through health care expenses and disability payments pooled through group health insurance and public programs.
National Healthcare Spending
Evidence on the considerable costs of obesity to individuals and society is rich. At the individual level, obesity is associated with health care costs that average about 40 percent above those for normal weight individuals. Overall, obesity-related direct and indirect economic costs exceed $100 billion annually, and the number is expected to grow. Despite these sobering statistics, the full effects of obesity trends since the 1980s are not yet fully apparent because health problems caused by weight gain take time to appear.
Obesity and the Workplace
Given the significant financial burden imposed by obesity, employers have a stake in reducing obesity in the workforce. Obese workers miss more days of work and cost employers more in medical and disability claims as well as workers compensation claims. As a result, an average firm with 1,000 employees faces $285,000 per year in extra costs associated with obesity. In addition to the costs of obesity to businesses, obese employees are subject to significant discrimination in the workplace due to weight stigma.
But if you want to go along that line
According to the NHS figures
Treating smokers for problems caused by smoking costs them £2.7 Billion per year
Treating obese people for problems caused by obesity costs them £5 Billion per year
Tax revenue from smoking is £105.7 Billion per year for the Government
What is the tax revenue on food?
Taxation as a direct result of smoking does not come from smokers alone, tobacco companies pay tax, those that sell cigarettes pay tax, importers of cigarettes pay tax, and so on, I would imagine that some of that figure is accounted for by that fact just as the revenue from food comes from manufacturers and sellers and employees of the food industry.
You are right that this amount could not come from smokers alone my own smoking bill is only £6200 per annum.
Thing is...with all health issues its a lot to do with education....and all starts with us as parents or grandparents.
I have to admit I have a very sweet tooth !! Love chocolate and sweets etc.
I put this down ( and its something we all have done and experienced ) to the fact that chocolate and sweets always equated to a reward and being good.
How many times have we said to our kids or grandkids....be good and I'll get you a bar of chocolate or a lolly etc....
From an early age we associate sweet things with being good and a reward !!
Maybe we should start to change attitudes and say be good and you can have an apple or a banana..etc. Government can only do so much....we as parents must also tackle out attitudes and maybe we can have a generation of healthy eaters in the future.
VAT is payable on many of the food types blamed for obesity. For example Chocolate biscuits, fizzy drinks, crisps, hot take away food, ice cream, chocolate, and confectionery/sweets, food eaten in fast food joints.
It is also payable on nuts, cereal bars and food to be eaten in restaurants.
