How can people live healthier lives: Former prime minister calls for further taxes on junk food to tackle the obesity crisis

In an interview with The Times Health Commission, “he compared the need for intervention over poor diets to the smoking ban”.

Tony explained, “We’ve got to shift from a service that’s treating people when they’re ill to a service that is focused on wellbeing, on prevention, on how people live more healthy lives.

“You can’t run a modern healthcare system where people are going live much longer unless they take some responsibility. You’ve got to help them do that.

“The way of helping them do that, particularly with poor families, is to create the circumstances in which [they can choose healthier food].”

Tony added that concerns over the “nanny state” were a “minority view”. He went on to compare the anti-obesity debate to the ban on smoking in public areas. He commented, “Smoking was a big, big moment for us. I was a bit worried because people whose political judgement I respected were saying — the working class will walk away from you completely.”