Denmark: ‘fat tax’ imposed

Soft drinks, booze and icecream subject to tax rise

From 1 July 2010, the Danish government has increased taxes on a range of products, with the tax on ice-cream, chocolate, sweets and soft-drinks rising by 25 per cent, and tax decreasing on sugar-free soft drinks. The aim of the change, as set out in a November 2009 paper from the Danish Ministry of Taxation, is ‘to reduce the prevalence of a broad range of illnesses and improve life expectancy’.

Later in the year, a new tax on saturated fats will be introduced, which will affect margarine, oils, animal fats and high-fat dairy products, and there will also be tax increases on tobacco and alcohol. These taxes will be implemented gradually, and will be fully in place by 2019.

These moves follow 2003 legislation to ban industrially produced trans fats.

While such moves are broadly welcomed, Alan Maryon-Davis, President of the UK Faculty of Public Health, agreed that ‘It’s a way of nudging people to avoid high-sugar and high-fat snacks’ but cautioned that ‘The downside is that it’s regressive in terms of it would hit the poorest hardest, and in the current climate when people are struggling to make a living, it’s a difficult balance.’ It is a balance worth striving for, however – as Monika Kosinska, secretary general of the European Public Health Alliance, noted: Denmark will not only increase general health amongst the population but will also ease the burden on the public health care system and increase its resources at a time of recession when Member States are cutting public expenditure.’

Source: BMJ, 6 July 2010.

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