Fat tax: Money grab or health helper?

The Danish government is taking measures to improve the health of its population. They recently introduced a new tax of 16 kroner ($2.90) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saturated fat in a product. It will be levied on foods like butter, milk, cheese, pizza, oils and meat. They also have their targets on tobacco and sugar in order to reduce their consumption.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/10/02/denmark-introduces-fat-tax-on-foods-high-in-saturated-fat/

This all sounds nice. But if the government of Denmark is so worried about health, why not eliminate the product completely? And the Danish have been consuming a lot of dairy products for a long time. And they just have 10% obese people.

If any government wants to make a difference, they should target all the overly processed foods. Have a good look at the cookie and cereal aisle at the supermarket. Does it make sense that they use more space than vegetables? That is where the problem is. Too many foods with low nutrition. But we can’t touch those foods. It’s a big business.

We are overfed and under nourished.

We should have a sugar tax. Hopefully that tax will go towards health care cost. What do you think?