Last Saturday in Denmark, a tax on fat was introduced to the consumer in order to increase the life expectancy of Danish people. Any product that contains in excess of 2.3% of saturated fats is being taxed, for example, it will now cost the consumer 25 pence more to purchase butter and 8 pence more for a packet of crisps. The money made from this price increase will go into funding the fight against obesity. The equivalent of £1.85 will be taxed on ever kilo of saturated fat that is contained in a product so it looks like a substantial amount of money will be invested in weight loss treatment research and obesity prevention campaigns.
Hungary has a similar tax in place known as the ‘Hamburger Law’, a tax on fizzy drinks, cakes and pastries and food with high levels of salt. Trans fats have been completely banned in Denmark, Switzerland and Austria and other European countries are considering this implementation. Campaigners in Britain are trying to persuade the government to take a similar action. A spokesperson from the National Obesity Forum has stated that if something has not been put in place before 2050, 70% of the British population will be obese and overweight.