DEBATE: With calls to ban milkshakes, is an obsession with ‘public health’ harmful to our personal wellbeing? November 14, 2018 With calls to ban milkshakes, is an obsession with ‘public health’ harmful to our personal wellbeing? Daniel Pryor, head of programmes at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Should we ban sugar, spice, and all things nice? The lobby group Action On Sugar thinks so. Its advocates aren’t content to simply jail purveyors of so-called “freakshakes” [...]
Irn-Bru boss delivers the fizz as profits grow despite ‘volatile’ business climate September 25, 2018 Irn-Bru owner A.G. Barr posted a rise in both pre-tax profits and revenue in the first six months of 2018, fighting off a number of challenges to the soft drinks industry. The FTSE 250 firm reported profits before tax of £18.2m in the first-half of 2018, rising four per cent from the same period [...]
Why a sugar tax is not the solution to the UK’s obesity epidemic July 13, 2015 Doctors in Britain calling for a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in order to combat obesity have come up against opposition who say the tax would be both regressive and ineffective. Under recommendations by the British Medical Association (BMA), a tax of 20 per cent would be applied to sugary drinks to dissuade consumers and push [...]
Government minister George Freeman threatens food companies with sugar tax May 21, 2015 Sugary foods may be taxed to cover the costs of treating obesity, a government minister has said. George Freeman, the life sciences minister, said yesterday that food companies should know that if they produce food that could lead to poor lifestyles and ill health, they may face penalties. In doing so, Freeman contradicted health secretary [...]
Resist temptation: A sugar tax won’t make us healthy March 5, 2014 THE RECENT suggestion by the chief medical officer Sally Davies that “we may need to introduce a sugar tax” is a tribute to the extraordinary media profile of Action on Sugar, the latest pressure group to blame a single ingredient for people being overweight. Previous targets include saturated fat and salt, but it is now [...]
Here’s why a sugar tax would be a big fat failure March 5, 2014 The chief medical officer for England Dame Sally Davies recently told a committee of MPs that a tax on sugar may be necessary to limit obesity rates. Speaking to MPs Davies said: We need to be both strong and prepared to regulate. I think that the science is going such that that we will find [...]
