Tax salt and sugar to cut obesity rates, says review

The National Food Strategy has suggested that sugar and salt should be taxed and vegetables prescribed by the NHS.

Led by Henry Dimbleby, the report recommends that GPs try prescribing fruit and vegetables to encourage healthy eating and says that taxes raised could extend free school meal provision and support better diets among the poorest.

The review, commissioned by the government in 2019, says historic reforms of the food system are needed to protect the NHS, improve the health of the nation and save the environment. The strategy says the UK population’s ‘malfunctioning’ appetites and poor diets – fuelled by consumer and manufacturer’s reliance on processed food – place an unsustainable burden on the NHS and contribute to 64,000 deaths each year.

The government has promised to respond with a White Paper within six months, which is expected to include proposals for policies for its own National Food Strategy.

The sugar and salt tax proposal, which could put 1p on a bag of crisps and 7p on a Mars bar, has been criticised as regressive as it would hit the poorest consumers hardest.