Former Health Minister Bent Høie (H) has chaired an expert committee tasked with reviewing the Norwegian food system. On Friday, he will present proposals to reintroduce a sugar tax, as too few people are eating in line with the authorities’ dietary guidelines.
On Friday, the Food System Committee, chaired by the former Minister of Health, presented new proposals to encourage people to eat more in line with dietary guidelines. According to Høie, too many resources are being spent on treating illnesses that could have been prevented if people had eaten in line with the authorities’ advice.
“Too much of society’s resources are spent on treating illnesses that could have been avoided if more people had eaten in line with dietary guidelines,” said Bent Høie during the press conference.
The proposals involve increasing the tax on sugar, introducing a graduated sugar tax on chocolate and sugar-containing products, and introducing a graduated sugar tax on non-alcoholic drinks.
“An unhealthy diet is one of the most significant risk factors for non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which we can do something about,” said Høie, according to NTB.
According to the committee, these types of diseases account for around 70 per cent of the total burden of disease in the country.
“The savings in health and social care expenditure resulting from the population adhering more closely to dietary guidelines are therefore very substantial,” he says.
On 1 January 2021, the tax on chocolate and sugar-containing products was abolished. On 1 July of the same year, the tax on non-alcoholic beverages was abolished entirely. Subsequently, prices fell sharply, and cross-border shopping fell significantly following the Covid lockdowns.
