2011/10/4
デンマーク、世界初の「脂肪税」導入 平均寿命延ばす！！
デンマーク政府は国民の平均寿命を延ばすため、１日から「脂肪税」を導入し、賛否両論を呼んでいる。バターなどの動物性脂肪に多く含まれる「飽和脂肪酸」を一定以上含む食品に対する課税を開始。政府は食生活の改善を目指し、心臓疾患などの生活習慣病を予防するため、３月に導入を決定した。脂肪への課税は世界初という。
デンマークのヤコブ・ニールセン保健・予防相は、世界初とされる「脂肪税」の導入について、「砂糖、脂肪、たばこに高い課税をすることは平均寿命を延ばすため、重要な施策の一つだ」と述べた。デンマークはここ数年、経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）加盟国の平均寿命７８歳を下回っており、次の１０年で寿命を３歳延ばすことを目標としている。
一般的に、飽和脂肪酸を多く摂取すると、動脈硬化などを引き起こす悪玉コレステロールが増加し、がんの原因になるともいわれる。課税によって食品の消費を減らすことで国民の健康を守る狙いがある。
対象となるのは、2.3％以上の飽和脂肪を含むバター、チーズ、牛乳、ピザ、肉、加工食品など。飽和脂肪１キロあたり１６クローネ（約２２０円）の税金がかかる。政府は、今回の課税で約２２億クローネ（約３００億円）の税収が見込まれており、バターの消費量は約１５％減少すると試算している。
含まれる飽和脂肪１キロにつき１６クローネ（約２２０円）の税金を課すことを決め、１日から実施した。例えば、バター２５０グラムの値段は２・２クローネ上がる計算になる。
この施策には、否定的な声も上がっている。英ＢＢＣ放送によると施行前、消費者には買いだめの動きが広がった。また、生産者は「官僚的な課税」と批判し、科学者からは、飽和脂肪酸よりも「塩、砂糖、炭水化物の方が健康に有害だ」との指摘も出ている。
ＡＰ通信によると、この基準を適用した場合、ハンバーガーは１個約１０円、バターは約２５円値上がりするという。デンマークでは、すでにほかの欧州各国と同様、砂糖、チョコレート、清涼飲料水にも課税している。
Denmark, like some other European countries, already has higher fees on sugar, chocolates and soft drinks
Denmark already taxes at 66 cents per kilogram the sugar that goes into its famed cinnamon pastries. It even has a tax on ice cream at 15 cents a liter.
2010年改正
Increased taxation of ice cream, chocolate and candy by 25%.
Tax on soft drinks differentiated with respect to sugar.
Tax on saturated fats in oils and certain dairy products.
他の国ではハンガリーが先月、肥満防止のため、スナック菓子や清涼飲料水など塩分や糖分が高い食品に対する課税策を導入している。
2011/10/3 CBS
Denmark's "fat tax" targets butter, burgers
A fatty cheeseburger may take a toll on your health, but if you live in Denmark,
it's also about to take a toll on your wallet.
Denmark has imposed a "fat tax" on fatty foods in an effort to convince Danes to
eat healthier. The tax is a complex one, in which rates will correspond with
the percentage of fat in a product. The value of
the tax is about $3.00 for every 2.2 pounds of saturated fat.
Denmark is to introduce one of the world’s first-ever “fat taxes,” in a pioneering move to slim the country’s waistlines and combat heart disease.
From this Saturday, the price of a pack of butter will soar by 50 cents, a bag of potato chips by 12 cents, and a pound of ground beef by 20 cents, as the government levies the new tax of 2.50 euros per kilogram ($1.60 per pound) of saturated fat.
For example, a burger will increase in price
by about $0.15, and a small package of butter could cost around $0.40 more under
the new plan.
The tax was approved by large majority in a parliament in
March as a move to help increase the average life expectancy of Danes -
which has fallen below the international average of 79 years -
by three years over the next 10 years.
Other European countries, including Denmark, have higher fees on sugar and soft
drinks, but Linnet Juul, food director at Denmark's Confederation of Industries
said he believes Denmark is the first country in the world to tax fatty foods.
"Higher fees on sugar, fat and tobacco is an important step on the way toward a
higher average life expectancy in Denmark," health minister Jakob Axel Nielsen
said when he first introduced the idea in 2009, because "saturated fats can
cause cardiovascular disease and cancer."
Some Danes are skeptical the tax will succeed. Mathias Buch Jensen, of
Copenhagen, told The Guardian that "Danes are big fans of butter."
"Knowing the Danes, it could have the opposite effect," Buch Jensen said. "Like
naughty children, when they are told not to do something,
they do it even more."
Hungary recently instituted a tax on prepackaged foods deemed unhealthy — meaning high sugar, salt, caffeine and carbohydrate content.
The "fat tax" — also known as the "hamburger tax" — passed July 12 and will be levied starting Sept. 1. The new fines on purchases of junk food are expected to raise $100 million a year, most of it earmarked to cover health care costs.
Hungary is set to impose the world's most comprehensive junk-food tax, which the government hopes will improve eating habits while helping to rebalance its healthcare budget.
The plan is to put a 10 forint ($0.05) levy on products containing "too much" salt, sugar, or fat, while increasing the tax on liquor and soft drinks by 10 percent. The proceeds, estimated up to 30 billion forint ($160 million), would pay for state-funded health care, which has a deficit of about 100 billion forints ($534 million). Hungary is among the most severely indebted countries in eastern Europe.
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The Hungarian government Tuesday approved the levy of the so-called "hamburger tax" on foodstuffs regarded as unhealthy from Sept. 1, state news agency MTI quoted a government spokeswoman as saying.
Hungary plans to tax foodstuffs with high sugar, salt and carbohydrate content, or which contains caffeine, Anna Nagy said. These foods include chips, snacks, energy drinks, certain prepackaged foods and instant soups, she said.
Manufacturers or, if the foodstuff is imported, the company that first sells the product will need to pay the tax, Nagy said.
The tax will be 300 forints ($1.63) a liter for energy drinks, HUF400 a kilogram of chips, and HUF10 a liter for sodas with a high sugar content, Nagy said.
Parliament is to approve the bill during its summer session, Nagy said. The governing Fidesz party has a comfortable majority in parliament, making the passing of the bill nearly certain.
The world's 10 fattest countries 2010 体重(kg)/ 身長(m) の二乗 標準 22
as measured by the percentage of the population with a BMI index of more than 25, according to the World Health Organization:1) Nauru: 95 percent of population
2) Micronesia,
3) the Cook Islands
4) Tonga: all at 92 percent;
5) Niue: 84 percent;
6) Samoa: 83 percent;
7) Palau: 81 percent;
8) United States: 79 percent
9) Kiribati: 77 percent.
10) Dominica: 76 percent
Kuwait: 75 percent
Argentina: 75 percent
Mexico: 73 percent
Australia: 71 percent
Egypt: 70 percent
Greece: 70 percent
Belarus: 67 percent
United Kingdom: 66 percent