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The rise and fall of the world's first fat tax

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  • Bødker, Malene
  • Pisinger, Charlotta
  • Toft, Ulla
  • Jørgensen, Torben

Abstract

In 2011, Denmark introduced the world's first tax on saturated fat, but only 15 months later the fat tax was abolished. The aim of this article is to investigate the political processes surrounding the implementation and rapid abolition of the fat tax. Our findings suggest that industry and trade associations were heavily involved in the political process of formulating the fat tax. Industry representatives used certain tactics to oppose the fat tax: threatening lawsuits, predicting welfare losses, casting doubt on evidence, diverting focus and requesting postponement. After the fat tax was implemented, the food industry continued their opposition through intensified lobbyism and juridical actions at EU level. However, other factors seem to have contributed to the fall of the fat tax. The tax received criticism for being poorly designed and gradually lost popularity among health professionals, politicians and the public. In the end, the fat tax was abolished for financial reasons. This study demonstrates how politicians considered the fat tax as a funding source rather than a public health initiative, which resulted in significant shortcomings. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the massive influence by industry stakeholders was not balanced with inputs from public health professionals, who should assume a more proactive role in policy-making.

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  • Bødker, Malene & Pisinger, Charlotta & Toft, Ulla & Jørgensen, Torben, 2015. "The rise and fall of the world's first fat tax," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(6), pages 737-742.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:119:y:2015:i:6:p:737-742
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.03.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kelly D Brownell, 2012. "Thinking Forward: The Quicksand of Appeasing the Food Industry," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-2, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Emily Lancsar & Jemimah Ride & Nicole Black & Leonie Burgess & Anna Peeters, 2022. "Social acceptability of standard and behavioral economic inspired policies designed to reduce and prevent obesity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 197-214, January.
    2. Alsukait, Reem & Bleich, Sara & Wilde, Parke & Singh, Gitanjali & Folta, Sara, 2020. "Sugary drink excise tax policy process and implementation: Case study from Saudi Arabia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Hagenaars, Luc Louis & Jeurissen, Patrick Paulus Theodoor & Klazinga, Niek Sieds, 2017. "The taxation of unhealthy energy-dense foods (EDFs) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs): An overview of patterns observed in the policy content and policy context of 13 case studies," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(8), pages 887-894.
    4. Andrea Bigano & Aleksander Śniegocki & Jacopo Zotti, 2016. "Policies for a More Dematerialized EU Economy. Theoretical Underpinnings, Political Context and Expected Feasibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-22, July.
    5. Le Bodo, Yann & Etilé, Fabrice & Julia, Chantal & Friant-Perrot, Marine & Breton, Eric & Lecocq, Sébastien & Boizot-Szantai, Christine & Bergeran, Céline & Jabot, Françoise, 2022. "Public health lessons from the French 2012 soda tax and insights on the modifications enacted in 2018," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(7), pages 585-591.
    6. Campbell, Norah & Mialon, Melissa & Reilly, Kathryn & Browne, Sarah & Finucane, Francis M., 2020. "How are frames generated? Insights from the industry lobby against the sugar tax in Ireland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    7. Apostolidis, Chrysostomos & McLeay, Fraser, 2016. "Should we stop meating like this? Reducing meat consumption through substitution," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 74-89.
    8. Scott, C. & Hawkins, B. & Knai, C., 2017. "Food and beverage product reformulation as a corporate political strategy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 37-45.
    9. Dogbe, W. & Gil, J.M., 2018. "Effects of a modified Danish fat tax on food consumption and nutrients intake in Spain," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277237, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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