The aims of the NHS
the deeply concerning effects of passive smoking. 15 Research 16 suggests that this ban ‘has helped save the lives of passive smokers’, with a reduction in heart attacks since its implementation . And the introduction of plain cigarette packaging with unsettling images is thought to reap huge rewards that have been seen in Australia too. 17 Ostensibly, it may seem as if the government deserves huge praise, but this is not the full picture. E-cigarette use (vaping) has been increasing at an alarming rate. Public Health England has claimed that ‘e -cigarette use is around 95% less harmful to health than smoking’. 18 However, there is no clarity around this, and more research is needed.
Sugar Tax The Sugar Tax (2018) is an initiative by the government to ‘reduce sugar consumption and tackle obesity’. 19 Pressure was put upon the government to implement this by the BMA, who recommended ‘a tax should be introduced on all sugar- sweetened beverages, which increases the price by at least 20 per cent’. 20 Doctors are concerned about the impacts of obesity on the NHS. Poor diet costs the greatest impact of all, costing the NHS
Figure 3 shows obesity prevalence between children attending schools in the most and least deprived areas 1
£6 billion 21 per year. The government had to address such a crisis and great burden to the NHS. Figure 3 highlights this clearly. Some have called for the money raised to subsidize the sale of fruit and vegetables, as another method to help solve the increasing level of obesity in the UK. Figure 3 above exposes the increase in obesity rates among children and in particular, the inequalities prevalent among different socio-economic backgrounds and the widening of this gap. Evidently, the government’s past initiatives to raise awareness, including Change4Life, have not been successful. Raising awareness can only be of use if people are willing to learn, and subsequently the sugar tax was a justifiable initiative in the plight of the status quo. It is critical to put an end to the imbalance between the prices of unhealthy and healthy products. Those from lower socio-economic backgrounds may be drawn towards processed, more sugary items, due to it being cheaper than a healthy alternative. The sugar tax helps to put an end to this inequality. The sugar tax is a recent initiative and must be given time to reap the rewards. For example, Mexico in 2014 introduced a similar tax and had seen an average decline of 7.6% in sugary-drinks consumption. 22 Since its introduction, the sugar tax has been effective in pushing companies to reduce their sugar content (29% reduction per 100ml in retailer own-brand
15 Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), 2017. 16 NHS, 2016. 17 Medhora, 2015. 18 Public Health England, August 2015, p. 5. 19 Welch, 2018: 109. 20 British Medical Association, 2015, p. 73. 21 British Medical Association, 2015. 22 The Guardian, 2017.
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