Australia needs a tax on junk food

Ms Molly Bond, PhD candidate at the Michael Kirby Centre for Public Health and Human Rights, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, and co-authors discuss the possibility of introducing a junk food tax in a similar fashion to tobacco and alcohol taxes.

Ms Bond said that the recent report on taxation — the Henry tax review — recommended that the federal government increase taxes already levied on tobacco and alcohol, because these are the best way to reduce social harms caused by the use and misuse of these substances. However, no similar scheme was recommended for junk food.

“In recent years, obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature death and illness in Australia,” Ms Bond said.

“More than 60 per cent of Australian adults and one in four children are overweight or obese.

“Evidence suggests that the obesity epidemic in Australia and around the world is predominantly the result of over-consumption of food rather than a reduction in overall physical activity.

“Curbing this over-consumption, of junk food in particular, must be a central component of any obesity prevention strategy.

“Junk foods have the same pattern of misuse and the same social costs as tobacco and alcohol.

“The Henry tax review rejects the idea of taxing fatty foods and, to date, the federal government has not implemented a tax on junk food.”

Ms Bond observed that the government’s response to the obesity epidemic has been to create a partnership between governments and industry, which will inevitably align with industry objectives rather than public health needs.

“We hope that the efforts of the public health community are not consumed in responding to government–industry initiatives that are almost certain to have no effect on the obesity epidemic.”

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

The statements or opinions that are expressed in the MJA  reflect the views of the authors and do not represent the official policy of the AMA unless that is so stated.

CONTACT:     Ms Molly Bond                                    0407 827 142

                   Ms Megan Gidley                                 0448 574 148

                   Senior Media Officer

                   Office Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement)

                   Monash University