Crackdown on junk food ads and 2-for-1 offers on biscuits
MINISTERS are planning a crackdown on junk food in an attempt to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis, it emerged yesterday.
Curbs on junk food adverts and two-for-one offers on biscuits and cakes are reportedly being considered by Whitehall officials.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is understood to be pushing for the measures and Government insiders claim he is winning over allies in Downing Street.
But Prime Minister Theresa May is understood to be unconvinced.
Tory MPs have warned that the proposals risk provoking accusations of meddling and could increase the cost of living for the country’s hardpressed households.
But MPs backing the move argued that “nanny state” objections should not apply to policies designed to protect children.
Sarah Wollaston, Tory chairwoman of the Commons Health Committee, said: “Adults have a right to make decisions about their health but when it comes to children, particularly with these profound inequalities, it’s absolutely right for the Government to make progress and pull the levers that will make a difference.”
Tory MP Philip Davies, a former marketing manager at Asda, said: “This is a ridiculous proposal. Why
wealthy women get 35 more healthy years
SOME women will enjoy 35 more years of good health than others, depending on where they live.
Huge variations in healthy life expectancy were revealed after forensic analysis of communities across England and Wales.
Research by the Office for National Statistics found that in Middlehaven, Middlesbrough, women can expect the onset of ill health at 48, compared with 83 in would the Government want to increase the cost of living for people?
“I worked for Asda for 12 years before becoming an MP and so I saw that customers love two-for-one offers. If somebody wants to buy something sweet, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do that?
“The Government has plenty of more important stuff to deal with before poking its nose into every nook and cranny of people’s lives.
“This is the sort of nonsense you might expect from a socialist government, not a Conservative one.”
Celebrity endorsements of unhealthy food products would also be prohibited under the proposals.
Mrs May’s spokesman yesterday dismissed reports of the crackdown as “speculation”. He added: “The Government has an obesity strategy, which has already been set out.” Blackheath, south-east London. Middlehaven is a former shipyard community beset by decades of industrial decay, while in Blackheath family homes regularly sell for upwards of £2million.
The figures come after separate data released last month showed the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest people in England had grown to almost 10 years.