Expert warns bringing a cake to the office is just as bad for you as second-hand smoke

A health expert has revealed bringing a cake into work is just as bad for you as second-hand smoke.

Professor and chairwoman of the Food Standards Agency Susan Jebb, who lectures about food and diet at Oxford University, has warned against workplace treats.

She told the Daily Mail: “If nobody brought in cakes into the office, I would not eat cakes in the day - but because people do bring cakes in, I eat them.”

“Now, okay, I have made a choice, but people were making a choice to go into a smoky pub."

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She continued: “With smoking, after a very long time, we have got to a place where we understand that individuals have to make some effort but that we can make their efforts more successful by having a supportive environment.”

She added that second-hand smoke could harm others the same way that ‘food’ can.

So, the next time you wanna bring in a few birthday red velvet cupcakes, heed this warning.

The professor also criticised the UK government’s decision to delay the ban of multibuy deal ads for junk food.

Jebb said: “That’s not fair. At the moment we allow advertising for commercial gain with no health controls on it whatsoever and we’ve ended up with a complete market failure because what you get advertised is chocolate and not cauliflower.”

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In May 2022, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to delay the ban and potentially scrap the policy altogether after a ministerial meeting addressing the cost of living crisis in the UK, as per The Guardian.

In the wake of his decision, former Health Minister Lord James Bethell said that failing to prohibit multibuy ads would ‘blow a hole’ in the UK obesity strategy.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “I am concerned that it will blow a hole in the obesity strategy. That has a massive follow-on effect on all of our health targets.

“More people are getting cancer due to obesity-related effects. So the cancer 10-year plan, the extra five years of longevity and many more of our health targets are damaged by this.”

While Barbara Crowther of the Children's Food Campaign said the former Prime Minister had gambled on children’s health.

"Obesity is spiking and millions of families can't afford to put proper food on the table. Multi-buy offers make people spend more on junk, and less on healthy food," she said, as per BBC News.

According to data compiled by the UK government, 10.1 per cent of children aged 4-5 were obese in 2021/22, while 12.1 per cent were overweight.

For ages 10-11, 23.4 per cent were obese, and 14.3 per cent were overweight.