Our obsession with paternalism has turned obesity into a disease from which there can be no escape

Where is the personal responsibility, where are the attempts to empower people?

Boris Johnson’s pledge to review the “sin taxes” that have spread across the statute book with the inevitability of holiday weight gain has certainly divided opinion. Some have branded the move irresponsible and even dangerous, highlighting new Cancer Research UK findingslinking obesity to more cases of common cancers in the UK than smoking. Steve Brine, the minister responsible for implementing the tax on sugary drinks, described the move as “transparent dog whistle politics” (whistling to whom? People who enjoy a full-fat Coke?)