Josh Fagan

Food & Grocery Council has flown in British anti-tax campaigner Chris Snowdon to lobby against soft drink taxes, in a move described by health researchers as suspicious.

Following Politics’ allegations that the council ran sponsored posts on the Whale Oil blog, the industry group has drawn further controversy for inviting Snowdon to give a speech titled ‘‘growing calls for taxes on sugar and why such taxes do not work’’.

Snowdon told council members in Auckland last week that tax schemes on soft drinks overseas had been a shambles. He said they lead to no real health benefits and only added to government coffers.

The UK Institute of Economic Affairs director said his opposition to the tax was about ‘‘defending ordinary people against the elite’’.

‘‘ I see myself as someone who gives ammunition to campaigners,’’ he said.

A push for a sugary drink tax was not the answer for obesity and would disadvantage the poor far more than the rich, he said.

‘‘ In practice there’s no country that has put a tax on these products at any level that has had any effect on obesity.’’

New Zealand has had varying incarnations of the sugar tax debate in recent years with limited political support.

The Greens have backed calls for a sugary drinks levy but National has rejected it and Labour’s health spokeswoman Annette King said she was only prepared to look at it if there was convincing evidence it would work.

Public appetite for a soft drink tax has been mixed, but support was growing, University of Otago professor Tony Blakely said.

Northland DHB announced last week that it was planning to remove all sugar-sweetened drinks from its cafeterias and vending machines from October.

Blakely said vested interest groups such as the F& G council were understandably concerned about the potential of a tax affecting their business.

‘‘Getting someone like

[Snowdon]