New research from the University of Melbourne claiming a tax on soft drink could add 1.2 years of healthy life per one hundred Australians (that’s right – a whole 4.3 days per person) has left public health puritans positively fizzing. But we shouldn’t take the wowsers at their word. Revived calls to lump consumers with a tax on treats says more about the public health industry’s addiction to meddling in our lives than any harm caused by a sweet tooth.