CSPI is not an arm of the US government, though; and the British proposal has been drawn up by the ruling party's own strategists, as a set of recommendations for potential anti-obesity legislation. That gets it much closer to becoming law than CSPI's pronouncements.

However, that said, this is most likely just a bunch of publicity-seeking and grandstanding on the part of the current government, to make it look as if they are doing something about "the obesity problem." I doubt very much that the "fat tax" will actually even reach Parliament for debate, at least not for a year or so--and by that time, new research may well have blown away the whole premise. Nevertheless, the fact that this could even get serious consideration is completely appalling to me.



Fast food and soda are already taxed. (Keep in mind that the tax is substantial, a whopping 17.5%.) I'm not sure if candy is taxed, but I'm fairly sure that cookies, snack cakes etc are not.

They also tax tobacco to within an inch of its life, and tax alcohol so much that people regularly take "booze cruises" to France. (There is no limit on the amount of booze EU citizens can bring into the UK, provided it was bought in another EU country and it is not intended for resale. People just take the ferry and come back with whole carloads of wine.)