Health chiefs in Greater Manchester want to bring in a tax on fatty foods – and promote the sale of healthy snacks.
They plan to lobby the government to increase the prices of unhealthy foods to encourage people to eat better.
Researchers will evaluate fast foods linked to obesity – such as chips, burgers, sausages and pizza – to see which should be taxed as part of a strategy to improve health in Greater Manchester.
Top doctors also want to make it easier for people to eat healthily and have pledged to hand out 30 street vending licences to businesses selling healthy snacks such as jacket potatoes and barbecued sweetcorn by April next year.
The ideas form part of a hard-hitting new strategy to detect cancer early and cut the high proportion of people suffering from the disease in this region.
Across Greater Manchester and Cheshire more people suffer from cancer than in other parts of the country and there are 460 excess deaths from the disease in the area every year.
The majority, 318, are from lung cancer but health bosses also believe they can prevent cancers by tackling diet and obesity along with further action on smoking, alcohol consumption and sunburn.
Obesity has been linked to cancer of the kidney and uterus for women and liver cancer in men is particularly associated with obesity.
The report, The Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cancer Network Prevention, Early Detection and Inequalities strategy, which has been adopted by all primary care trusts in Greater Manchester, suggests they should use tactics which have helped cut smoking over the last few years to tackle poor diets and obesity.
They want to cut obesity and they recommend advocating for taxes on fattening food, put graphic, put simple labels on the front of packaged food showing its nutritional value and require restaurants to give similar information on menus. They also want to restrict adverts for fatty foods.
They have already brought out a strategy to improve the quality of food served in workplaces.
The report, by Dr Anthony Threlfall from the Greater Manchester Public Health Unit, says reducing body and abdominal fat will help reduce cancer risk.
It says: “Health education alone is unlikely to have a major impact. It must be backed up with real changes that make healthy choices easier.
“Its should be recognised that it is harder to eat well if local shops do not sell healthy food, if outlets are off-licences and fast food takeaways.
It adds: “It is not possible to stop all cancer but many of the main causes of cancer such as smoking, unhealthy diets, being overweight and having a sedentary lifestyle are amenable to change.
“If everyone adopted healthy lifestyles the falls in colon cancer and lung cancer would be dramatic and there would also be noticeable falls in other types of cancer.”
And they want to make it easier for people to walk and cycle by creating five bike hire schemes before April 2011.
Andy Walker, from Our Life heath pressure group, said: “We are pleased to see that this report addresses the urgent need to tackle obesity and poor diet. It is not as easy as it should be to access healthy food and this is a significant barrier to better wellbeing and health.
“It can be no coincidence that in the north west our health statistics are worse than the national average. We should not accept that this situation is in any way automatic or the 'way that things are'.
“The time has come to address these levels of poor health that are, bluntly, killing people across our region.”
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The NHS should put its own house in order before it preaches to the rest of us.
The NHS workforce has to be one of the most unhealthy there is - go to any hospital and see all the fat staff waddling along the corridors. And ask to see the staff absence figures too!
A 'fat tax' will be what? A couple of pence extra on top of the cost of a burger, so its not gonna stop anyone indulging. On top of that, the extra tax won't go to the NHS to tackle the 'war on cancer'. Just like 'road tax', the money will be ploughed into that magic pot in Westminster and diverted to other more 'pressing' issues. What next? A tax to get into Heaven?
its the only answer they have tax tax tax to any problem
"its the only answer they have tax tax tax to any problem"
And a problem that applies to some people, but they make everyone pay.
Never mind another Tax. refuse planning permission for all these takaways and fast food outlets.
MCC promote bad eating by allowing areas to be blighted by takeaways and fast food outlets,If MCC started to control areas from being overun by these shops maybe we can wean our already overweight people off these fatty food outlets.MCC are allowing residential areas to be "Mini curry miles" ashton new road is a example every other shop along this road is a takeaway or A alcohol outlet where very young children go for their sweets which sit along side alcohol? and we wonder why children drink at such a young age..I dont think the MEN will publish this. if you want to sort these problems out stop giving permission for these shops to thrive in such large numbers.
I can't believe some of the posters on here. Read the story. They don't want you to pay the tax. It's to form a deterrent to help stop you eating unhealthy food. If you don't want to pay it, stop eating c***.
well if its like that, what about a lettuce tax for people with under-eating illnesses.
Quote:
"Top doctors also want to make it easier for people to eat healthily "
What about middle and bottom doctors - do they not get a say?
Someone needs to stop acting stupid and instead ban the manufacturers from adding deadly fats; exchange the bad fats for good ones and bring down the price of meat so more can be added and make the meat market more organic. Just like the booze and the cigs people will still buy it.
People should be taxed for making stupid ideas.
Why should I have to pay more for my chips and pizza just because some people are greedy?
It's alright i'll pay because some people can't control their weight.
Hot take aways already attract VAT at 17.5% so how much more will be added to dissuade people? I can see this developing like petrol tax. First a tax is applied and then VAT is added to that tax, in other words you pay tax for the privilidge of paying tax!
How about the government issuing a tax rebate for those who exercise instead of seeing everything as an opportunity to levy yet another stealth tax.
I'm surprised the government have'nt worked out how to tax fresh air!!!
the government conning more money off the hardworking public!
I'm having my two 9 inch pizzas tonight with a large tub of garlic sauce whether top doctors like it or not!!
what I want to know is HOW FAT IS THE DOCTOR????????
I'm surprised the government have'nt worked out how to tax fresh air!!!
Carl Knott
5/04/2010 at 14:36
They have; A mask made out of old chastity belts is fitted to the face, it as a ten pence slot for eight hours of air, if you run out then its curtains. Everyone will have one by 2050.
Our nearest hospital really needs to take a long hard look at its canteen. Fried garbage, all the healthy options are way over-priced, and for staff on nights all they get is a vending machine with a microwave. An absolute scandal in my opinion.
" I can't believe some of the posters on here. Read the story. They don't want you to pay the tax. It's to form a deterrent to help stop you eating unhealthy food. If you don't want to pay it, stop eating c***."
Acid, Chadderton
Acid, that is just pure bullying. Stop doing what we tell you to stop, or we'll have your money off you. I eat a burger with fries about 3 times a month and generally eat good food and a balanced diet. Why should I pay more when the "won't be told", greedy, lazy, brainless lard-gorging minority won't even be deterred?
That is the point of peoples' protests on here. There is enough health-education about. You will not stop people being stupid even when it means slowly killing themselves. The tax will just be another waste of money down the drain of public expenditure.
Like smoking taxes put people off smoking, make healthy food cheaper..............
This seems to be the government's answer to everything - tax. Why not actually tackle the root of the problem and tackle the manufacturers. The government knows that by taxing it - they can claim to be having an effect, whereas what they are really do is increasing revenue. All public authorities and departments have standing orders to look at ways of cutting costs and INCREASING revenue.
Tackle the root of the problem rather than trying to out-price people. This is the problem with the UK now - the problems are ignore and people have no disposable income to do anything unless it's provided through the "Strength through Joy" government programmes.
well said acid zingo dave, i also wonder how many burgers etc are bought by benifit money , therefore they wont have to find the extra cost , we will,they wont have to worry about being off sick either they will still get their money and be looked after
50,000 die each year in the UK from ingesting pollution toxins,but once again its your fault for eating Burgers that your suffering Cancer.
What you breathe in each day in Greater Manchester is beyond all limits and not one Medical Administration (and their loads of quangoes) will admit and tell you the facts which YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW.
It sickens me constantly at how the Public are kept ignorant regarding the major killer which is out of control,ie AIR POLLUTION.
Tax all fats, dairy products, bacon buttys, sausage buttys , ban the full English breakfast, get rid of the Devon Cream Teas, Eccles cakes, Chorley cakes, all cakes, tax all 99p frozen meals,close all takeaways , ban food programs that make you hungry, where will this end....how much is the National Debt ?
Why no mention of taxing those that use sunbeds..and then add a tax to those who go holiday to sunny climates...