'Chocolate tax' to tackle obesity
 Food industry representatives said the "chocolate tax" would not work |
A Scottish GP has called for chocolate to be taxed in the same way as alcohol and cigarettes to tackle increasing levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Dr David Walker, a GP in Lanarkshire, said many people eat their entire daily calorie requirement in chocolate, on top of their normal meals.
The doctor said chocolate used to be seen as a "treat" but had now become an harmful addiction for some.
He will put his proposals to colleagues at a BMA conference in Clydebank.
Dr Walker, who is also a trained food scientist and nutritionist, told the BBC news website: "Obesity is a mushrooming problem. We are heading the same way as the United States.
"There is an explosion of obesity and the related medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes. I see chocolate as a major player in this, and I think a tax on products containing chocolate could make a real difference."
Dr Walker said that a 225g bag of chocolate sweets contained almost 1,200 calories - almost half the recommended daily calorie intake for a man - and could be eaten incredibly quickly.
 |   People have been lulled into a false sense of security about chocolate  Dr David Walker |
He said: "There is lots of negative publicity about other fast food and junk food but chocolate is sneaking under the radar.
"People have been lulled into a false sense of security about chocolate.
"I had one patient recently who said to me she thought chocolate was good for you. People are being brainwashed into believing this."
Under Dr Walker's proposal, to be presented at the annual conference of Scottish Local Medical Committees, revenue raised from taxing chocolate products would be used by the NHS to deal with the health problems caused by obesity.
He will also argue that the extra money raised could be spent on increasing and improving sports facilities.
'Lighter wallets'
Dr Walker said: "After eating a bag of chocolate sweets you would have to walk continuously for three hours to burn off the calories consumed.
"It is simply not enough to say people should get more exercise. They also need to moderate their chocolate intake and this tax would help them do that."
Representatives from the food and drinks manufacturing industry have dismissed Dr Walker's suggestion.
Julian Hunt, of the Food and Drink Federation, said: "Introducing regressive taxes on the foods that consumers love would result only in lighter wallets, not smaller waists - particularly as we already have to pay VAT on all our chocolate purchases.
"While good for grabbing headlines, there is no evidence to suggest that such 'fat taxes' would actually work in reality.
"Indeed, when the BMA debated a similar motion in 2003 its members voted against such an idea on the grounds that such a taxation policy would have no effect on obesity, would hit lower income groups hardest and would be a bureaucratic nightmare."
However, Dr Walker, said he hoped Scottish GPs at the BMA conference would back his proposal.
He added: "The idea of a tax on fatty foods has been raised before and it was seen as unworkable. But I think a special case should be made for chocolate.
"It has lost its status as a 'special treat' and I think that if we charged a tax on it then, over a number of years, we could restore that status."
