Health chiefs blast Boris Johnson’s opposition to ‘sin taxes’

Health chiefs have blasted Boris Johnson’s opposition to ‘sin taxes’ and are calling for the Prime Minister to ‘follow the evidence’ and expand them to cover all junk food.  

The head of NHS England has urged the Government to be ‘led by the evidence’ showing the so-called sugar tax has worked, days before the results of a review into whether it should be extended to all unhealthy foods are due.

Simon Stevens warned that ‘poor diet’ is ‘now a bigger risk factor for ill health than smoking’.

NHS England´s chief executive Simon Stevens (left) has warned that Boris Johnson (right) should follow the evidence on sin taxes 

England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies will publish her findings this week after being asked by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to examine the possibility of taxing all unhealthy foods.

Boris Johnson has been accused of ‘turning back the clock’ on the fight against childhood obesity after he pledged a separate review into so-called sin taxes, including the levy on sugary soft drinks.

He previously said it was time to take a proper look at the ‘continuing creep of the nanny state’ and argued that the taxes disproportionately affect the poor.

The sugar tax – which came into force by law in 2018 – has led to a 28.8 per cent reduction in sugar per 100ml of drink.

Asked about accusations of nanny statism from high up in Government, Simon Stevens told an NHS Providers conference in Manchester: ‘I also think we hear the notion that we should be led by the evidence.

‘And the evidence is going to be set out very soon by the outgoing chief medical officer Sally Davies and I hope that her findings will be taken seriously.

Simon Stevens says that the obesity crisis shows how poor diet is now an even bigger threat to health than smoking 

‘I supported, in fact advocated, a sugar tax precisely because it was felt that it would lead to the reformulation of the amount of added sugar in fizzy drinks, not because it would put the price up per se.

‘And that’s exactly what’s happened. So when you look at the evidence of whether or not the sugar tax has worked, the answer is it has.’

Earlier on, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said the ‘biggest single thing’ the PM could do to protect the NHS was to show decisive leadership on sugar and salt in food, and clean air.

He added: ‘Sheltering behind flowery rhetoric about “nanny statism” doesn’t cut the mustard.’

Mr Stevens also hit out at the England and Wales Cricket Board for having KP Snacks sponsor its new 100-ball tournament.

Each team in The Hundred contest will wear shirts featuring a different KP Snacks brand, including Skips, Hula Hoops, Butterkist, Pom-Bear and McCoy’s. KP Snacks said it was ‘helping to grow cricket and encourage families to get active’.

But campaigners said they were ‘stumped’ that the board had thought it appropriate to choose a high-fat, high-salt snacking brand as an appropriate partner for the competition.

The NHS boss also called on social media companies to take responsibility for some of the root causes of mental health problems affecting young people.

He recalled sitting down for a meal with young people being treated at a specialist eating disorder clinic.

Mr Stevens said: ‘If we are thinking about all of the pressures bearing down on young people, including young women in our society, there is a wider responsibility that goes with social media and other companies to deal with some of the root causes of these increasing problems that we are seeing.’

Some social media companies are acknowledging this responsibility and ‘don’t want to get on the wrong side of what I think is rapidly crystallising public opinion’, he added.