Fat taxes: Can taxing unhealthy food and drink improve health?

The May 2012 Business Forum discussed the public health potential of taxes on unhealthy foods. In October last year David Cameron floated them as a possible policy tool; Denmark and Hungary have introduced them, and France recently piloted adding taxes to sugary drinks.

But will ‘fat taxes’ really change the nation's eating habits, or will there be unintended consequences, such as unfairly penalising society's poorer citizens? Business Forum members discussed these issues and more over dinner at a celebrated London restaurant.

They heard from experts Martin O'Connell, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Dr. Mike Rayner, Director of the British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University. The meeting was chaired by Michelle Harrison, CEO of TNS-BMRB and a member of the FEC.