Time for a noodle tax?: Doctor who sounded alarm on ultra-processed food urges tougher action

Carlos Monteiro says the links between UPF and obesity, diabetes and even mental ill health are so strong that manufacturers should face taxes just like tobacco firms Pity the poor students as they head off to university, ready to survive until Christmas on instant noodles and breakfast cereal. The first doctor to raise the health alarm on ultra-processed foods believes it is time to put a tax on those noodles – and he even has ice-cream in his sights. Prof Carlos Augusto Monteiro says the strength of the evidence of the problems such food causes for “most body systems” leaves “no doubt” that governments need to act now.