According to polls, a majority of Britons are calling for new taxes on companies that produce junk food or highly processed foods to combat the obesity crisis.

The findings led to calls for ministers to help people eat healthier by imposing a sugar tax on sweets, cereals, pizza and other products with too much salt or sugar.

In an Ipsos poll for the Health Foundation think tank, 58 percent of respondents said they would support the introduction of a tax on companies that produce foods with high sugar or salt content, with part of the revenue being used to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for poor families.

Ipsos found that a smaller proportion of respondents, but still a majority (53%), supported imposing a tax on companies that produce highly processed foods such as ham, biscuits and mass-produced bread, with part of the revenue being used to help low-income households improve their diets.

When it comes to taxing junk food producers, only 19% of the representative sample of 2,136 UK adults opposed the idea and 20% said they did not know. A larger number (24%) opposed taxing ultra-processed food producers and 21% did not know.

Responding to the 58 percent support for taxes on sugary and salty product manufacturers, Adam Briggs, a senior policy fellow and public health expert at the Health Foundation, said: “The new government should be encouraged by this kind of polling and understand that this (idea) has broad support and is likely to deliver important health benefits. The public is basically saying: it’s time for tough action.”

Labour’s election promises on obesity – such as a ban on junk food advertising to children on television before the 9pm threshold and a ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s – were not enough given the enormous damage caused by the obesity epidemic, Briggs said.

Obesity costs the UK an estimated £98 billion a year, with £6.5 billion of this going to the NHS to treat weight-related illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and joint problems.

A sugar tax modeled on a sugar tax would initially be levied on confectionery, cakes and biscuits, sugary breakfast cereals, sweetened yoghurts and crisps, but would later be extended to include ready meals and pizza – the latter two because of their high salt content, Briggs said.

The levy on the soft drinks industry introduced by the Conservatives in 2018 showed that taxing unhealthy products causes many companies to change their recipes to avoid paying the tax and thus serve public health.

Support for taxing producers of ultra-processed foods reflects growing public concern about their health effects, which include increased risk of heart problems, cancer and mental illness.

The scientist who coined the term “ultra-processed foods,” Prof. Carlos Monteiro, recently proposed that these foods should be labeled with warnings similar to those on tobacco products and that they should also be taxed because of the dangers they pose.

But Dr. Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People, believes the best approach is to tax individual products rather than the entire food category.

“The companies that produce ultra-processed foods are privatizing the benefits and shifting all of these costs so that, whether we like it or not, we have to foot the bill. Taxing the companies that are causing the problem is fair and necessary, as long as it is done with great care so as not to increase health inequalities,” he said.

“A flat tax on UPF would be wrong and harmful. We can regulate individual products much more effectively.”

Responding to Ipsos’ findings, the Food and Drink Federation, which represents most food manufacturers, said companies should be allowed to develop healthier products – for example by cutting out salt, sugar and calories and adding fibre, fruit and vegetables – rather than having to pay taxes for doing so.

“Manufacturers are committed to continuing to work with the government to tackle obesity and poor nutrition. Our success depends on how we work together to ensure companies invest in healthier food,” a spokesman said.

“We believe that supporting companies of all sizes to develop healthier products would deliver more and provide better value for money than taxes.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs said: “Prevention is better than cure. That is why this government will make it its mission to shift the focus of health care from merely treating disease to preventing it.”