Chocolate tax.

CHOCOLATE should be taxed in a bid to control the obesity epidemic, a medical conference will hear today.

Family doctor David Walker believes that chocolate is a "major player" in the problem of the country's expanding waistlines.

Taxing the treat would raise its profile as an unhealthy food which can contribute to weight-related conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and back pain, the Lanarkshire GP will tell doctors at a conference in Clyde-bank.

He said people are often eating more than half a day's worth of calories when they polish off a bag of chocolates in front of the television.