From Vivienne Nathanson, British Medical Association
The British Medical Association has never recommended the introduction of a tax on fatty foods. Given Whyte’s attacks on “sloppy thinking”, the least he could do is check his facts before launching a tirade against the BMA.
The BMA discussed the possibility of tackling the obesity epidemic using the taxation system at our annual meeting in 2003, but it was the overwhelming opinion of doctors that such a system would place an unacceptable burden on low-income groups.
Doctors do not pretend to have all the answers to the health problems facing the world. However public health problems such as the high levels of obesity and the dangers of second-hand smoke are close to the hearts of doctors, who see the devastating effects these problems can have on the lives of their patients.
It is important to give people the tools to make informed choices and not dictate what those choices should be. By increasing public debate on these issues this is what the BMA is trying to do.
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London, UK
