UK scientists want to tax the crap out of you

Fat Tax May Prevent 3,200 U.K. Deaths, Study Shows
Bear in mind that the UK has a population of 60,776,238, of which 15% are over age 65, and

In addition, many more now survive into their eighties and nineties.

Additionally, A tendency toward heart disease or fatty buildups in arteries seems to be hereditary.

Doctors in the UK (which doctors, the article doesn't say, so I asume it's the doctors involved in publishing the study) want to increase the price of food in the UK by nearly 5% over the the current inflation rate:

A "fat tax" on unhealthy foods could prevent more than 3,000 deaths from heart attack and stroke every year in the UK, experts have said.

Some researchers are in favour of such a tax while others would prefer to see healthy foods subsidised instead.

In 2004, then prime minister Tony Blair rejected the idea for a tax on fatty foods such as cakes and biscuits, saying it would make Britain too much like a "nanny state".

The new study involved testing different economic models to work out how a fat tax may affect people's buying habits.

Three different approaches were tried out, with the first involving a tax on foods with high levels of saturated fats, such as whole butter, cheese, cakes and pastries and puddings.

The second was to apply a tax to foods with a high "unhealthiness score" - known as the SSCg3d score. For example, spinach scored -12, while chocolate digestive biscuits scored +29.

The third approach was to introduce a tax on a wider range of products with the aim of cutting the intake of fat, salt and sugar.

The third approach was found to be the most effective in reducing the number of deaths, preventing up to 3,200 deaths from heart disease and stroke every year, equivalent to a drop of 1.7% across the nation.

Food expenditure would go up by 4.6% or 67p per week, or around £2 billion annually across the UK.

They've been at it for quite a while but they keep trying.

The foods considered include dairy products, pastries, chocolate, pizzas and burgers.

This means that healthy foods that are naturally high in fat and salt, such as cheese, would be considered "bad", and that the entire population of the country would be affected by rising inflation, all to save a 3,200 people who may already be predisposed by age, hereditary factors, and/or unhealthy habits.

It also asumes that people will change their eating habits because some foods cost more, by not buying the foods they crave and switching to healthy foods.

Good luck on that, folks.

And now for a prayer: Good Lord, deliver us from the nanny state, Amen!