Sinful behaviour is often pleasurable, as Boris Johnson understands very well
call themselves Conservatives, Britain’s recent leaders have been unusually willing to meddle with individual choices. Plastic straws are to be banned, over concerns about pollution of the oceans. A tax on plastic bags, introduced in 2015, may double under plans currently out for consultation. The Tories have also expanded so-called sin taxes on unhealthy behaviour.
Some would like the nanny state to be stricter still. Jamie Oliver, a celebrity chef, wants to tax milkshakes. Professor Dame Sally Davies, England’s chief medical officer, is due to deliver in September a report that is likely to recommend more taxes on unhealthy foods. The Institute for Public Policy Research, a leftish think-tank, recently called for more food taxes and for sweets, crisps and soft drinks to be sold in plain packets, as cigarettes already are.
Awkwardly, the answer to both questions is probably that they do. Although the Johnson campaign cites a dissenting study, on the whole there is good evidence that sin taxes change people’s behaviour. In the case of alcohol and tobacco, for example, economists tend to find that a 1% increase in prices is associated with a 0.5% decline in sales. But because poor people tend to spend a higher proportion of their income than others on things deemed sinful, such taxes hit them hardest.
Mr Johnson’s plans are likely to go down well with the Conservative Party members whose votes he is courting. Health campaigners may be less impressed. On the same day as his announcement, a report by Cancer Researchfound that obesity caused more cases of cancer than tobacco in Britain.
This ignores their associated loss of personal choice, however. It also misses a point that Mr Johnson understands very well: the thing about sinful behaviour is that it is often pleasurable."Boris eyes the nanny"
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