Birthday cake in the office is one of the few joys some people have while working their 9-to-5 grind and this buzz kill is trying to take that away from us.

Professor Susan Jebb, chairwoman of the Food Standards Agency, just warned that bringing cake into the office is as harmful to colleagues as secondhand smoke.

Seriously.

This top UK food regulator and former government advisor on obesity now teaches diet and population health at the University of Oxford and she clearly has no self-control and is taking it out on the public.

Professor Jebb told the Times:

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.

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.

But we still don't feel like that about food.

food.gov.uk

She claims that passive smoking inflicts harm on others "and exactly the same is true of food."

Professor Jebb also slammed the government for delaying a junk food advertising ban, which she said is "undermining people's free will" to eat vegetables.

Umm... I think we are all aware of the existence of vegetables and those who choose to eat cake instead of a carrot are doing exactly that – exercising their free will.

Advertising means that the businesses with the most money have the biggest influence on people's behavior.

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.

I agree, people should get healthier.

Cake isn't good for you, smoking isn't good for you. But cake is delicious, and secondhand smoke is not.

She is comparing apples and oranges. Or more accurately, birthday cake and tobacco.

Lord Rose of Monewden, chairman of Asda, told the Times Health Commission that workplaces need to do more for employee's health.

Why don't we lobby to say that also in that process as employers, we have a legal obligation to do something about our employees' health?

Obesity is a huge problem in the UK. Back in 2020, former prime minister Boris Johnson declared war on the nation's waistlines but more recently the Government backed down on its nanny-state style nutrition policies.

Last month, the Health Secretary Steve Barclay delayed an advertising ban until 2025 and instead wants "more positive ways to promote healthy living."

Is it the job of the state or workplace to keep people healthy?

Or does that type of self work, discipline and healthy lifestyle choices start at home?

So, maybe we should leave people alone and...