HAVING supported Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol in Holyrood, it’s not surprising I back a sugar tax in Westminster. They concern health problems that require action as education and guidance have either failed or are insufficient.

Indeed, on sugar I’d like Westminster to go further or, if it hasn’t the political appetite, then allow Holyrood the right to digest contents and labelling.

I confess to being one of these people you see in supermarket aisles peering at labels trying to work out ingredients. Palm oil in oatcakes are a big bugbear, as I like to buy the latter but avoid the former. The plight of orangutans is the reason for that but other foodstuffs are likewise scanned as I try to eat more healthily.

But it’s difficult with that particular product line as it is with most others. Trying to work out what’s in a tin or package and whether it’s good for you almost seems to require a degree in nutrition. The current traffic light system gives some indication but it’s still hard to fathom just what is and isn’t nutritious or healthy, as debates over fat content and other ingredients enter the mix.

However, with progress being made on MUP it is time to make progress on sugar.

Along with alcohol abuse, obesity is becoming a major health issue of our age. It’s a first world problem and affects the poor disproportionality. Just yesterday I heard that after smoking it’s the second greatest contributor to cancer. Again, an issue that afflicts the disadvantaged more than the fortunate.

As modern medicine is discovering ever more wondrous cures, it’s our lifestyles through drink and drugs, obesity and lack of exercise that are taking their toll. There’s something far wrong that with all the progress that we’ve made as a society, life expectancy will fall for coming generations. And pressures on the health service mount. It’s not just of interest to individuals who might suffer but to all of us who require to contribute to it or will be scrambling for a share of limited available services.

A sugar tax is no doubt a blunt instrument and far from a miracle cure. There are other actions needed such as education and guidance, but additional steps including through taxation there must be.

What I don’t buy, though, is the argument that it’s a tax on the poor. That point was made by our national chef whom I admire immensely and who has done sterling work in promoting both Scottish cuisine and a healthier diet. But, on this I just think he’s wrong.

Similar spurious arguments were made over MUP. It was a tax on the poor drinker was a claim made by opponents, often representing wealthy corporate interests. Yet the evidence showed that those buying and those dying were invariably from the poor and disadvantaged. I know from a dear friend with just such an addiction that affordability and availability did affect his consumption. Half-pints would be nursed rather than full pints drunk. It’s too late for him but hopefully others can benefit from a reduction in the sales of such products.

Food is similar. A friend just back from the United States told me of a part of Brooklyn now described as a “fruit free zone”, a euphemism for an area where cheap fast food and other convenience stores have wiped out fruit and vegetables. It’s affecting health and life expectancy and it is the poor and disadvantaged who are suffering. There are parts of Scotland that sometimes seem that way. I recall a convenience store in a poor part of Edinburgh where I held a regular surgery. Trying to find a healthy snack was harder than locating the type of oil on a packet of oatcakes.

Last week I was at an anti-illicit trade event and a similar comment was made about the poor suffering as they sought a bargain. Utter nonsense, it’s the poor who suffer from the damaging products sold and the harm they cause. Thankfully, we’ve avoided the mass deaths through illicit hooch or other fake products that have killed elsewhere. But, it’s still the poor who are sold not a bargain but a pup.

For sure, a sugar tax won’t on its own change that or improve the health statistics but it’s a vital part of it and it is needed as a start. Affordability, availability and education are all vital. But, a free market race to the bottom most certainly isn’t the way. That’s not driven by a desire to feed the poor but the increasing of corporate profits.

Corporate interests will adjust their products, keeping prices affordable but making the products healthier. A sugar tax is needed for a healthier society, for rich and poor.