The Budget

[Tangled up in Blue]

Be interesting to see how this plays out..

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-35863776

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I'm not too bothered about it but it is a bit Nanny state as there is an assumption that anyone with a sweet tooth is likely to be obese or a drain on the health service. I love a bit sugar, but I live a very healthy lifestyle all in all. Wish there was a way you could tax the obese directly, although I believe it is perceived to be against their human rights. I'd also like weight taken into account for your baggage allowance on flights and if you take up one and a half seats on the train you should pay for those two seats during rush hour. Obviously legitimate health reasons should be exempt

A health professional I teach is very much in favour of this sort of measure.That's good enough for me.

 

[Pubey]

I'm not too bothered about it but it is a bit Nanny state as there is an assumption that anyone with a sweet tooth is likely to be obese or a drain on the health service. I love a bit sugar, but I live a very healthy lifestyle all in all. Wish there was a way you could tax the obese directly, although I believe it is perceived to be against their human rights. I'd also like weight taken into account for your baggage allowance on flights and if you take up one and a half seats on the train you should pay for those two seats during rush hour. Obviously legitimate health reasons should be exempt

The concept behind these kinds of 'nudge' policies is that the price impact is minimal enough so that it doesn't significantly impact on low level consumers, but it will be felt most by those who are high consumers of goods with a lot of sugar. Personally I'm in favour of these policies but feel that this one was rushed through and a bit under-baked (no pun intended). I'd like to see minimum pricing for alcohol come in, but sadly the government killed that off, even in the light of pretty persuasive evidence.

Also, people with a 'sweet tooth' already are a burden on the NHS - as a nation our teeth are terrible, we have some of the highest rates of diabetes in Europe and a diet that is high in sugar is also associated with a generally poor quality diet (e.g. not freshly prepared fruit and veg). It's not just about obesity.

 

[Ricky Otto]

The concept behind these kinds of 'nudge' policies is that the price impact is minimal enough so that it doesn't significantly impact on low level consumers, but it will be felt most by those who are high consumers of goods with a lot of sugar. Personally I'm in favour of these policies but feel that this one was rushed through and a bit under-baked (no pun intended). I'd like to see minimum pricing for alcohol come in, but sadly the government killed that off, even in the light of pretty persuasive evidence.

Also, people with a 'sweet tooth' already are a burden on the NHS - as a nation our teeth are terrible, we have some of the highest rates of diabetes in Europe and a diet that is high in sugar is also associated with a generally poor quality diet (e.g. not freshly prepared fruit and veg). It's not just about obesity.

Like I said I'm not too bothered by it, you do make valid points that I hadn't considered though.

I'm not backing down on weight allowance on flights and paying for 2 tickets on the train though :winking:

 

[londonblue]

Like I said I'm not too bothered by it, you do make valid points that I hadn't considered though.

I'm not backing down on weight allowance on flights and paying for 2 tickets on the train though :winking:

Good. I wouldn't want you to. I think you're right on both counts.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Good. I wouldn't want you to. I think you're right on both counts.

Cool. I weigh over just 10st. Can I go half price?

 

[londonblue]

Cool. I weigh over just 10st. Can I go half price?

Same here, so yes!

 

[Ricky Otto]

Cool. I weigh over just 10st. Can I go half price?

The way I see it is you still take up one seat so you pay for one seat, however on flights you would have a bigger baggage allowance than most.

 

[Benfleet A1]

Cool. I weigh over just 10st. Can I go half price?

What do you do when its windy?

 

[MK Shrimper]

What do you do when its windy?

You've seen my nose - I'm very streamlined :smile:

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

"they can get the bus more. It may be that you still need a car if you live in the countryside (and maybe people should think twice about living in the middle of nowhere)"...until the bus service is scrapped, like the 374 through Fobbing.

exactly that. you based that way yourself?