Yes - I would prefer sugary drinks are taxed too - Coke, Fanta etc.
Which we already have here, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy otherwise known as the 'Sugar Tax'.
Yes - I would prefer sugary drinks are taxed too - Coke, Fanta etc.
Oh wow -never knew that, a great start imho (we need one in the USA but those midwest farmers that grown corn for high fructose corn syrup would go into a frenzy and lobby like crazy)Which we already have here, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy otherwise known as the 'Sugar Tax'.
However, I'm in the privelaged position of being able to do my own cooking, which is something that not everyone is
I would be happier (and no doubt healthier) if junk food were more expensive. However, I'm in the privileged position of being able to do my own cooking, which is something that not everyone is. If people were empowered more by the necessary facilities, time and confidence to actually make more food from scratch for themselves, they'd be probably be a bit healthier. But the cause of the obesity epidemic is mainly political, and driven mainly by poverty. I should add that my cooking is still incredibly basic, and I am still a bit overweight.
I wouldn’t describe being able to cook / prepare food as a privilege. Surely it’s a basic human right.
Oh wow -never knew that, a great start imho (we need one in the USA but those midwest farmers that grown corn for high fructose corn syrup would go into a frenzy and lobby like crazy)
Yes not an easy one to solve. I too am incredibly privileged and also a bit overweight. The climate does not help either in the UK. I can grill on my BBQ virtually every night. If me and the wife fancy a burger, we get a decent beef patty, grill it myself on the BBQ put it on a bun with some raw onion and fresh tomato and possibly salad and hey presto a good healthy meal. Not everyone especially in the UK can do that because the weather is so unpredictable.
18-24p a litre. It’s had a dramatic effect already in the sugar content of drinks. Results from Mexico (3p a litre) show it works.
If me and the wife fancy a burger, we get a decent beef patty, grill it myself on the BBQ put it on a bun with some raw onion and fresh tomato and possibly salad and hey presto a good healthy meal.
You can as easily do that indoors using, er, a grill!
Expect, once transition from the EU is complete, to lose the booze cruise option. The limit is likely to be 200 cigarettes....I am currently in shock having been relieved of £13 in Tesco for 20 Benson & Hedges Gold
My latest "fag run" to Luxembourg last weekend was cancelled by The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's untimely intervention.
Had I been able to go I would have been sourcing stock at around £5 a packet for the same product in much nicer packaging.
The economics of travelling abroad to purchase cigarettes on the surface sounds insane, but if you are bringing 200 packets back with an £8 saving on each it soon put things into perspective.
Having not purchased any cigarettes in the UK for years I hadn't realised how far the price differential had expanded.
The excise duty on tobacco is surely a regressive tax as it disproportionately affects the poor who form the bulk of smokers these days. Can you imagine the outrage that would be generated amongst the chattering classes if Alcohol was taxed at the same level ?
As a footnote I have arranged a trip to Italy next week where I will have to pay the outrageous price of 6 Euros per packet to obtain my Benson & Hedges Gold. The trip has cost me just over £200 for a BA Holiday with an overnight stay in Venice. Such hardship to buy a a packet of fags .
Surely the 'booze cruise' days were when the 1 litre/200 snouts limits were in force. The short crossings ferries would offer virtually free trips over and back and gave travellers the drink and tobacco limits free in a carrier bag. They were the 'non-lander' trips. You weren't allowed off the boat on the other side.Expect, once transition from the EU is complete, to loose the booze cruise option. The limit is likely to be 200 cigarettes....
It is but it's also clear that not everyone can be expected to cook from scratch. Enough time and someone to give a bit of guidance and confidence are significant limitations, but having the facilities and ingredients is also necessary.I wouldn’t describe being able to cook / prepare food as a privilege. Surely it’s a basic human right.
Also if you are hungry and not as well off/poor the tendency would be to go for something calorie dense and “comfort” rather than healthyI wouldn’t describe being able to cook / prepare food as a privilege. Surely it’s a basic human right.
Yes not an easy one to solve. I too am incredibly privileged and also a bit overweight. The climate does not help either in the UK. I can grill on my BBQ virtually every night. If me and the wife fancy a burger, we get a decent beef patty, grill it myself on the BBQ put it on a bun with some raw onion and fresh tomato and possibly salad and hey presto a good healthy meal. Not everyone especially in the UK can do that because the weather is so unpredictable.
I hope that some good comes out of the Covid crisis with more people walking and cycling. That will help.
Also if you are hungry and not as well off/poor the tendency would be to go for something calorie dense and “comfort” rather than healthy
That climate link would work better if there weren't fat people in both cold and warm places. It's certainly the case in the US, or at least in the two places I know well, the San Francisco Bay area and Madison, Wisconsin.
And lots of those fat people aren't poor, and lots of the thin people are. It's almost as if individual tastes and choices are a factor.
It is but it's also clear that not everyone can be expected to cook from scratch. Enough time and someone to give a bit of guidance and confidence are significant limitations, but having the facilities and ingredients is also necessary.
You are entitled to your opinions.I agree that not everyone can be expected to cook from scratch. That doesn’t mean you are prevented from eating healthily.
And I struggle to believe that there is anyone out there who needs to buy food for themselves or others who doesn’t have the choice of buying healthy food, regardless of their capability of food prep.
Also if you are hungry and not as well off/poor the tendency would be to go for something calorie dense and “comfort” rather than healthy
As a non-smoker, I would say no, not nearly as I still find myself having to breathe in other people's smoke. But that's a non-smoker's viewpoint.Has Cigarette Taxation gone too far in the UK ?
Food that can be cooked quickly out of the freezer, and healthy food are not mutually exclusive.I *can* cook, it's just I often can't be bothered. It's a lot of effort sometimes, so stuff that can be cooked quickly out of the freezer, or some chocolate, whatever it might be, is sometimes just the ticket.
But more often than not they will beFood that can be cooked quickly out of the freezer, and healthy food are not mutually exclusive.
Oh, without a doubt. Just pointing out that it is possible to eat healthily without having to cook from scratch. If you look at the nutritional information on a lot of the higher-quality pre-prepared food, it's not actually that bad. The issue arises when you want to combine that with eating cheaply.But more often than not they will be
18-24p a litre. It’s had a dramatic effect already in the sugar content of drinks. Results from Mexico (3p a litre) show it works.
This demonstrates the "unintended consequences" of the sugar-tax rather well: rather than put up prices, manufacturers have changed their formulae to reduce the sugar content. In terms of preventing obesity that's a result, but does mean that the revenue from the "sugar levy" won't be as high as forecast.Coke has also changed its marketing - the sugar-free varieties no longer have less attractive packaging, but instead all of it is red just with a bit of highlighting of which version it is. This pushes the idea that they're all equivalents and not that the "all red" can is the king.
Sums it up perfectly actuallyTo repurpose a saying from the computer industry: Fast, cheap, nutritious. Choose two.
Food that can be cooked quickly out of the freezer, and healthy food are not mutually exclusive.
This demonstrates the "unintended consequences" of the sugar-tax rather well: rather than put up prices, manufacturers have changed their formulae to reduce the sugar content.
It wasn’t unintended at all, it was precisely what Government expected when it introduced the levy. Indeed it was announced two years before it came into effect, to allow soft drinks manufacturers sufficient tie to reformulate their recipes, which is exactly what they did.
And thus, the "grey market" of American import soft-drinks being sold at a premium in many shops was born!It wasn’t unintended at all, it was precisely what Government expected when it introduced the levy. Indeed it was announced two years before it came into effect, to allow soft drinks manufacturers sufficient tie to reformulate their recipes, which is exactly what they did.