BURGER TAX WILL HELP US BEAT CANCER; Doc's junk food cash call.

Byline: By John Ferguson 

CANCER expert Dr Anna Gregor yesterday called for burgers to be taxed to help beat the killer disease.

Dr Gregor, appointed by the Executive as lead cancer clinician to oversee reform of NHS services, says taxing junk food could make Scots opt for a healthier diet.

And she believes good food can reduce the risk of cancer by up to 24 per cent, as well as fighting obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Dr Gregor said yesterday: 'If the state is serious about nutrition, we need to use all the levers of state to make people eat more healthily' We know that if we increase the price of cigarettes through taxation, it will reduce smoking.

'So if we increase the price of junk food, maybe it will reduce the amount of rubbish people eat.

'The tax would have to apply to what is in the food rather than how or where it is sold. It would be based on things like salt and sugar content.'

Dr Gregor, who is clinical director of the South-East Scotland Cancer Network, added: 'There was a report at a recent conference that highlighted breast cancer patients who adopted a low-fat diet and reduced their risk of recurrence by 24 per cent.

'One Big Mac a year has not killed anyone but when you eat nothing else you have a problem - the same would be true of fillet steak.

'Junk food is an addiction like alcohol or smoking and we need to look at ways to help people who are vulnerable not to go there.'

Dr Gregor said the high cost of healthy food made it more likely that poorer people would have an unhealthy diet.

She added: 'If you live in a deprived area, you have less access to healthy food in terms of what shops stock in your community and what you can afford to pay.

'If the money from a tax on junk food was ploughed back into making healthy food cheaper, then it would be much more understandable to people.

'The exact figure of the tax I am not sure of but I think there has to be a debate over itAn Executive spokeswoman said: 'We are committed to better health in Scotland including improved diet and higher levels of physical activity.

'The impact of a move to tax particular types of foods, both positive and negative, would have to be fully explored.

'Current action to improve diet in Scotland aims to reduce fat intakes and increase fruit and vegetable consumption by influencing consumer demand through education and working with the food industry to ensure demand is met

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HEALTHY OPTION: Dr Anna Gregor