The government is to tackle rising rates of obesity and sexually transmitted disease via a white paper to be published in the summer, the health secretary, John Reid, said today.
In a speech to NHS leaders in London Mr Reid said the paper would focus on developing a strategy to improve the nation's health through addressing issues such as food labelling and advertising bans.
These were central to reducing Britain's health inequalities, he told NHS trust chief executives. But he added that the government could not force people to be healthy and "should not tell [them] how to live their lives".
"We need a big debate about the relative roles of government, individuals and industries in tackling this vital challenge," said the health secretary.
"We need to find the right balance, rejecting both the nanny state and the 'Pontius Pilate' state which washes its hands of its citizens' health."
The strategy will be drawn up over the next three months following consultation with the public, health professionals, the food industry, tobacco companies and advertising firms.
It will focus on reducing levels of preventable illness, such as sexually transmitted infection and smoking and alcohol related conditions, including cancer and coronary heart disease.
Mr Reid said the consultation would explore, for example, who should take prime responsibility for rising rates of childhood obesity: parents, the government, the food industry, retailers or advertisers.
The white paper will also take account of the forthcoming second report by Derek Wanless, the former banker who advises the government on health service spending.
Mr Wanless' report, which is due to be published in the next two months, will set out how to build a quality public health system. It is expected to call for more emphasis on preventing poor health, rather than simply treating it.
Mr Wanless believes this could substantially reduce NHS spending. His interim report, published in December, warned that unhealthy lifestyles, poverty and an ageing population would place the greatest burdens on the NHS over the next 20 years. It highlighted the strong link between the incidence of cancer and heart disease and lifestyle factors, such as smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity and alcohol consumption.
A Department of Health spokesman said the second Wanless report would "inform" the public health white paper.
"It will make a valuable contribution to the debate on public health and inform our decision making processes," he said.
The first Wanless report, published in 2001, predicted that getting people to take more responsibility for their health and wellbeing could help save the NHS up to £30bn over the next 20 years.
