Society Denmark introduces world's first fat tax

TIME : Beating Butter: Denmark Imposes the World's First Fat Tax

The Danish government has decided to tackle obesity and cardiovascular diseases by imposing a new tax of 16 krone per kilo of saturated fat on all products containing more than 2.3% of it. This will especially affect the price of butter and its derived products.

The Time also mentions that "in 2004, Denmark became the first country in the world to ban transfats — the solid fats commonly used in snack foods and industrially produced baked goods."

I personally think that the initiative is laudable, but many Danes seem opposed to it. Would they prefer a new tax on healthy foods instead ?


EDIT : additional review of the fat tax by the New Scientist

New Scientist said:

Taxes on cigarettes are set high enough to discourage use, especially among young people. But the food taxes are low, 0.34 kroner on a litre of soft drinks, for example. The "fat" tax is 16 kroner per kilogram of saturated fat. In dollars, the taxes will add 12 cents to a bag of crisps and 40 cents to the price of a burger. Whether these amounts will discourage purchases remains to be seen.

Other countries are playing "me too" or waiting to see the results of Denmark's experiment. Hungary has imposed a small tax on sweets, salty snacks, and sugary and caffeinated drinks and intends to use the revenues to offset healthcare costs. Romania and Iceland had such taxes but dropped them, whereas Finland and Ireland are considering them. Surprisingly, given his party's anti-nanny state platform, UK prime minister David Cameron is suggesting food taxes to counter the nation's burgeoning obesity crisis. The US has resisted calls for taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, not least because the soft drink companies spent millions of dollars on defeating such proposals.

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Maciamo said:

TIME : Beating Butter: Denmark Imposes the World's First Fat Tax

The Danish government has decided to tackle obesity and cardiovascular diseases by imposing a new tax of 16 krone per kilo of saturated fat on all products containing more than 2.3% of it. This will especially affect the price of butter and its derived products.

The Time also mentions that "in 2004, Denmark became the first country in the world to ban transfats — the solid fats commonly used in snack foods and industrially produced baked goods."

I personally think that the initiative is laudable, but many Danes seem opposed to it. Would they prefer a new tax on healthy foods instead ?

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That's good! Unluckly there's not so much food culture all around the West World. There is a growing gap beetween obesity in rich countries and malnutrition in poor countries.

We sort of new it was coming.

Ricardo, western world got fatter in last 30 years, but the third world doubled population in this time. If they didn't they would have more food to eat per person. Who would you blame that they have not much to eat anyway?

LeBrok said:

We sort of new it was coming.

Ricardo, western world got fatter in last 30 years, but the third world doubled population in this time. If they didn't they would have more food to eat per person. Who would you blame that they have not much to eat anyway?

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I don't understand what do you want to say with that...I don't think it's directly their fault if the population doubled, isn't it?

Sorry, it was a little vague, I admit.

There is a growing gap beetween obesity in rich countries and malnutrition in poor countries.

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Reading this I had a feeling that you are unhappy about this situation. I wanted also to inquire who you blame for this unfortunate situation of hunger in third world?

Now you said this:

I don't think it's directly their fault if the population doubled, isn't it?

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What do you mean? Can you elaborate?

I always try to avoid any trans in the food that I buy, it's good that a country finally has banned it, it is well known the bad effects it has on health.

I believe you're all mistaken. The main info in the sentence is not FAT but NEW TAX. Or how to take your money and tell you it's for your own good...

lol, this is much "improved" and sophisticated Big Brother.

Cimmerianbloke said:

I believe you're all mistaken. The main info in the sentence is not FAT but NEW TAX. Or how to take your money and tell you it's for your own good...

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Governments need money anyway, especially very social-minded governments like in Scandinavia. I will always agree that it is better to tax anything that is bad for health or the environment than what is good. If they had to raise new taxes, they might as well do it intelligently.

Putting a tax of saturated fat isn't really going to change much as there really isn't any strong science actually saying that it's bad for you.

Also, if you had bought it for years, would you stop just because of that tax?

But then again, they tax everything here in Scandinavia even the amount of horse power in your car gets it's own tax.

ultralars said:

But then again, they tax everything here in Scandinavia even the amount of horse power in your car gets it's own tax.

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I believe that horse power determines how much a car is taxed in most developed countries.

What sets Scandinavia apart is its very high tax on alcohol (and tobacco, although other European countries are catching up).

Tobacco, alcool and fuel are the main sources of VAT revenue across Europe. In Ireland, your car is taxed depending on engine size (a 2.0 diesel being taxed the same as a much more powerful 2.0 petrol). Taxing junk food doesn't make sense as VAT across Europe is lower for "harmful" take-away Mc D type food than a classic restaurant. I read something particularly insightful in this week's Economist: "Why is it called class warfare to advocate raising taxes on the rich, but not when it comes to cutting benefits to the poor?"
Anyway, all these mesures only reinforce trans-border traffics and shopping holidays. I realize everybody here in Berlin seems to smoke polish cigarettes...

It makes some sense since obese people tend to experience more health problems and their medical care costs, on average, are higher compared to people who maintain a reasonable weight.

So what's after fat tax? Sugar tax in 5 years?

LeBrok said:

So what's after fat tax? Sugar tax in 5 years?

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If that means cutting taxes on other food products, why not ?

This tax is only addressing one problem which is diet. You are still likely to have various health problems if you are not exercising.

So are we to tax people who walk too slowly, tax people who drive cars and take buses, offer tax breaks to cyclists. No because that would just be silly:grin:.

If anywhere needs an unhealthy diet looked at it's good old Scotland, have a look at what people regularly have for breakfast:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliced_sausage
"a favourite in Scottish cooked breakfasts and is often eaten in a bread roll"

Now let me make this clear that is a burger in a roll for breakfast!

A mans life expectancy in Glasgow is 54

I know for a fact that tax would make no difference and people would still eat it because it's a cultural thing, if you want to change eating habits you need to change the culture. Look at how expensive smoking is and how shunned it is yet people are still buying the dam things.

Maciamo said:

I believe that horse power determines how much a car is taxed in most developed countries.

What sets Scandinavia apart is its very high tax on alcohol (and tobacco, although other European countries are catching up).

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oh sorry hehe didn't know that, it's just something i heard from a friend the other day.

I can agree with Maciamo that taxing unhealthy things (at least considered such) would have some positive effect. I would also mandate that these taxes go directly to medical system.
I'm also agreeing with Edao that at some point all the process of taxing everything and everywhere, at different levels, might be too complicated and get out of hand, without much benefit.

I think that the biggest problem related to diet (except that we eat too much) is that organic, good natural food, is more expensive than processed low quality one. This is what most obese people eat, and they greatly belong to lower or lower med class.
We would need to tax processed food high enough to make it more expensive than organic. This would change people's diet and benefited us all.
The biggest change should come in next decades when we finely invent good slim pill, and possibly a pill that make your muscles grow without exercising, like a hibernating bear, lol. Can't wait.

I do not think eating processed or overpriced "healthy" food makes a big difference to how obesity is crawling in western countries. The real problem is lack of physical exercise and educating the masses. Taxing tobacco and alcool taxes did not solve the problems they created. Just have a look at any A&E department on a friday night, no need to come up with statistics. On another hand, I have a strong tendency to rebel against that kind of laws and savage taxing. If the government wants to control what we eat, where does it end? I think they should instead concentrate on the millions leaked every month in social support. Kicking the people up the arse is a sure way to get them to move and start looking for a job.
LeBrok, I know some women who eat the good healthy food you seem to advocate and are still fat. The solution you propose is discriminating against poor people, who would see their food bill skyrocket. As a child, all the stuff we bought at home was organic but that was before it became a trend and the organic tag increased the prices. We also had no melons in december, no strawberries in winter and I was 12 when I saw my first kiwi fruit...

Cambrius (The Red) said:

It makes some sense since obese people tend to experience more health problems and their medical care costs, on average, are higher compared to people who maintain a reasonable weight.

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Then tax obese people, not the food they eat...