A columnist and restaurant critic from The Times has sparked controversy in the United Kingdom by using an hour-long TV show to call for a direct tax on the obese (BMI > 30), ostensibly to cover the extra financial burden imposed on society by those who are overweight.
The presenter, Giles Coran, did not mince his words. His idea draws on the fact that other products that have costs to society – namely, tobacco and alcohol – are taxed, and that obesity will soon overtake smoking as the main cause of premature death in the UK. He sees a ‘fat tax’ as a way of recouping the costs, encouraging the overweight to take responsibility for the impact of their obesity, and acting as a deterrent for those who are not yet obese. Rejecting indirect taxes, such as a tax on fatty foods, Mr Coran’s tax would be indexed to income, and would require individuals to pay more as their weight rises.
While this is not the first time that a 'fat tax' has been suggested, the idea has not been welcomed by Dr Ian Campbell, director of Weight Concern, an organisation that seeks to tackle obesity through education. In an interview on the BBC’s Today Programme, Dr Campbell rejected the tax: ‘The real answer [to rising levels of obesity] lies in recognising for the first time that environment and health are inextricably linked … and it is down to government to provide firm leadership.’
There are certainly no easy solutions.
Sources: ‘Tax the Fat’ (More4) and Radio 4’s Today Programme (6 June 2006)