When purchasing a copy of the Times of Malta in the convenience store at Mater Dei Hospital on October 31, I had to run the gauntlet of shelves packed with confectionary before I was asked by the cashier, no doubt acting on directions from management, whether I wished to buy the special offer of two chocolate bars, which, presumably, are extremely high in calories, for the price of €1.

I have had similar experiences in Britain with W.H. Smith, a company that has close commercial relationships with the proprietors of the Mater Dei shop. I assume, therefore, that this practice, which was strongly criticised by the campaigner for healthy food, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, in a recent BBC television series, has spread to Malta from W.H. Smith.

Promoting unhealthy food is surely highly unethical and insensitive in a hospital where devoted and hard-working professionals have to fight against the consequences of the obesity epidemic that, unfortunately, afflicts both Malta and Britain.