Guernsey Press

A fizzy drinks tax one way of tackling obesity

A TAX on sugary drinks would be just one weapon in the fight against obesity, according to the director of public health.

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A TAX on sugary drinks would be just one weapon in the fight against obesity, according to the director of public health.

Dr Stephen Bridgman raised the matter in his annual medical officer of health report which was published in November.

Yesterday he backed the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in the UK, which put forward a 10-point plan to tackle the problem to end what it called the UK's status as the 'fat man of Europe'.

'There are many measures, including taxation, which could form part of a strategy for the control of obesity in the islands,' he said.

Doctors in the UK want to see a 20% increase in the cost of sugary drinks, as they say gross overweight is the 'greatest public health crisis facing the UK'.

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