If chocolate cost more, would you eat less of it?
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A Scottish doctor is proposing for a tax on chocolate to tackle rising levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes
Dr David Walker, a GP in Lanarkshire, said chocolate should be taxed in the same way as alcohol and cigarettes, as people are eating their entire daily calorie requirement in chocolate, on top of their normal meals.
He said chocolate used to be seen as a ‘treat’ but has now become a harmful addiction for some people. Dr Walker, who is also a trained food scientist and nutritionist, warned that a 225g bag of chocolate sweets, which many people easily chomp their way through at the cinema, contain almost 1,200 calories – almost half the recommended calorie intake for a man.
After eating a bag of these chocolates, you would have to walk non-stop for three hours to burn off the calories consumed.
Some food experts are saying that people would willingly pay more for chocolate, and there is no evidence to suggest that ‘fat taxes’ would work.
Dr Walker is due to present his proposal to colleagues at the BMA conference in Clydebank.
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