Except it's not a joke, it's probably true [0] : Research by the Institute of Economic Affairs argues that a tax on fatty food could actually increase the burd

Except it's not a joke, it's probably true [0] : Research by the Institute of Economic Affairs argues that a tax on fatty food could actually increase the burden on the health system and unfairly penalise the poor. Dr Barrie Craven from the Department for Education at the University of Newcastle, who co-wrote the IEA report, said: "It is commonly assumed that obese people are a disproportionate burden on the NHS. "By 56, the obese are the most expensive but not over their lifetime. "We have to remember that the obese and smokers tend to die earlier and the healthy incur very expensive 24 hour care later in life for diseases such as dementia." [0] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9359212/Obese-and-smokers-less-of-a-burden-on-the-NHS-than-the-healthy-who-live-longer-report.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/9359212/Obese-an...