Calls to ban eating on public transport have divided opinion across Britain today after the outgoing chief medical officer proposed the radical move to fight obesity.
Many regular passengers were outraged by Dame Sally Davies’ drastic suggestion, labelling her plan as ‘absurd’ and ‘utter lunacy’.
But others took the opportunity to vent their frustration over the ‘chomping’ noises coming from fellow commuters on their morning travels.
Some diabetic patients today promised to defy any potential ban over fears that being unable to snack could be dangerous for their blood sugar.
In recent months, commuters have been caught using spoons to eat straight out of mayonnaise jars and using their hands to munch a prawn salad.
Another train commuter was this summer branded an ‘absolute legend’ and ‘hero’ after he was spotted eating Viennetta with a metal spoon.
Dame Sally, nicknamed ‘nanny-in-chief’ for her bold public health interventions, made the drastic suggestion in a 98-page report today.
Twitter users branded her suggestion ‘crazy’, with one saying: ‘Lots of people just have time to grab a snack on the go.’ Another user – @PiersJH – said the proposed ban was ‘absurd’ and described it as being a ‘powergrab by the nanny state’
Jack Ashby, a diabetic patient, said he would eat on public transport regardless of if a ban is imposed because ‘I often have to sort my sugar out with food’
Tanya Barad, a fellow diabetic patient, called the move ridiculous and questioned whether the rule would apply for train journeys of six hours
Another user said the move was ‘utter lunacy’, and mocked that food should be banned in the street, workplaces and houses to ‘fix obesity’
Derrick Roberts joked that if he asked Siri who the ‘stupidest person in the world’ would be, it would give the answer ‘Dame Sally Davies’
One Twitter user agreed with the suggested ban, saying: ‘I don’t want to hear some greedy pig chomping on a bag of crisps first thing in the morning’
Sally Pethybridge said the ban would be ‘good’, joking that the ‘lingering smells of curries and vile McDonalds’ still haunt her to this day
Twitter users branded her suggestion ‘crazy’, with one saying: ‘Lots of people just have time to grab a snack on the go.’
Another user said the proposed ban was ‘absurd’ and described it as being a ‘powergrab by the nanny state’.
And another said the move was ‘utter lunacy’, and mocked that food should be banned in the street, workplaces and houses to ‘fix obesity’.
Derrick Roberts joked that if he asked Siri who the ‘stupidest person in the world’ would be, it would give the answer ‘Dame Sally Davies’.
Jack Ashby, a diabetic patient, said he would eat on public transport regardless of if a ban is imposed because ‘I often have to sort my sugar out with food’.
Tanya Barad, a fellow diabetic patient, called the move ridiculous and questioned whether the rule would apply for train journeys of six hours.
One Twitter user agreed with the suggested ban, saying: ‘I don’t want to hear some greedy pig chomping on a bag of crisps first thing in the morning.’
Sally Pethybridge said the ban would be ‘good’, joking that the ‘lingering smells of curries and vile McDonalds’ still haunt her to this day.
And Charlotte Lewis said: ‘I’m fed-up with having to sit on a bus surrounded by discarded food-wrapping and even discarded food – it’s disgusting and I don’t see why I should be subjected to that filth.’
Dame Sally also wants health chiefs to threaten industry with ‘cigarette style’ plain packaging for sweets and chocolates if they fail to meet sugar reduction targets.
She today said Boris Johnson was wrong to say exercise is more important than diet, in defence of the controversial sugar tax.
In an attack on ‘sin taxes’ earlier this summer, the Prime Minister said officials should just encourage people to ‘do more exercise’.
Health leaders, including the head of the NHS, have since blasted Mr Johnson for his criticism of proposals to slap a sugar tax-style levy on junk food.
Talking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dame Sally this morning defended the sugar tax, which came into force by law in April 2018.
One train commuter was this summer branded an ‘absolute legend’ and ‘hero’ after he was spotted eating Vienetta with a metal spoon
One traveller was caught eating an M&S prawn salad with his bare hands while horrified commuters looked on
Another commuter was spotted using a spoon to eat straight out of a mayonnaise jar on a bus
Dame Sally Davies, nicknamed the nation’s ‘nanny-in-chief’ for her bold public health interventions and who today said snacks should be banned on public transport in her most radical proposals to date, said 80 per cent of obesity is down to what we eat
In an attack on ‘sin taxes’ earlier this summer, the Prime Minister said officials should just encourage people to ‘do more exercise’
Dame Sally wants the Government to threaten the food industry with ‘cigarette style’ plain packaging for sweets and chocolates if they fail to meet sugar reduction targets. The sugar tax programme – already in place for soft drinks – should be extended to cereals, yogurts and cakes if targets are not met by 2021, and applied to calorie-rich foods by 2024
She said: ‘We have a Prime Minister who’s intelligent and follows the evidence and as a result we have reviewed the sugar levy, it isn’t a tax.
‘Reformulation by companies has resulted in them selling 10 per cent more drinks and taking 30million tonnes of sugar out of the diet.’
Dame Sally, who today suggested banning food on public transport to curb obesity rates, added: ‘I think that’s great for everyone, it’s a win-win.’
And when asked about Mr Johnson’s belief that exercise is more important than diet, she said: ‘On that, he and many people are wrong.
‘Eighty per cent of weight is about what we eat, and 20 per cent is about physical activity.’
Mr Johnson declared war on ‘sin taxes’ on sugary and fatty foods and promised a review if he reached No10 in July.
At the time, he said: ‘The recent proposal for a tax on milkshakes seems to me to clobber those who can least afford it.
‘If we want people to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles, we should encourage people to walk, cycle and generally do more exercise.
‘Rather than just taxing people more, we should look at how effective the so-called “sin taxes” really are, and if they actually change behaviour.’
But Mr Johnson’s pledge sparked a backlash from health campaigners who accused him of ‘turning back the clock’.
The Royal Society for Public Health argued you ‘cannot outrun a bad diet’ and said it was wrong to put the onus on individuals to change their habits.
Earlier this week, the head of NHS England Simon Stevens urged the Government to be ‘led by the evidence’ that showed the sugar tax worked.
The UK has some of the fattest girls in the world, behind only Chile, the US and Mexico. It falls a few places down a global league table for obesity among boys
Dame Sally Davies’ report revealed sizes of some of Britain’s favourite snacks, such as bagels and crisps, as well as meals including cottage pie and pizza have increased in size since 1990
Dame Sally, who nine years ago became the first woman to be appointed to the job, also criticised the junk food industry (pictured in the report, enough children to fill 13 school buses are admitted to hospital to have teeth removed each week)
English children are fatter than ever – official data revealed last October that one in every 25 10 to 11-year-olds are severely obese, the fattest possible category
Being fat as a child raises the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or cancer in later life, scientists have repeatedly warned
NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson also said Mr Johnson’s choice to attack ‘nanny statism’ did not ‘cut the mustard’.
The sugar tax – which has bumped the prices of some leading soft drinks – has led to a 28.8 per cent reduction in sugar per 100ml of drink.
Dame Sally today delivered her final report of recommendations, after being asked by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to potential measures to curb obesity.
She said food should be banned from public transport to stop people snacking on the go and called for junk food ads to be banned from public venues.
She also wants the Government to threaten the industry with ‘cigarette style’ plain packaging for chocolates if they fail to meet sugar reduction targets.
And the sugar tax programme – already in place for soft drinks – should be extended to cereals, yogurts and cakes if targets are not met by 2021.
More immediately, Dame Sally wants a calorie cap on restaurant and takeaway meals and nutritional labelling made compulsory on all supermarket food.
Dame Sally stepped down as chief medical officer last week to start a new job as Master of Trinity College in Cambridge.
Her 98-page report was scathing about politicians’ attempts to tackle obesity – she called on ministers’ to ‘do their duty’ and ‘be bold’ to deal with the problem.
Mr Hancock said: ‘Professor Dame Sally Davies has done more than anyone to promote the health of the nation over a decade as CMO.
‘Her parting report is no different and we will study it closely and act on the evidence.’