Sugar Tax.

[wellquickwoody]

I think it's just another example of pressure groups hectoring the general public. "Let's tax alcohol, lets tax sugar, lets tax trans-fats"

And in the last day or so we have had health professionals saying that if you wish to REDUCE your risk of living with dementia in old age then you should STOP drinking alcohol ENTIRELY once you reach middle age. I suggest that to reduce your risk of being involved in a road traffic accident you should never leave the house.

 

[looney]

Yeah I guess that might be true. But alternatively, if cheap shìt food can only be made with either excessive refined sugar or more horrendous stabalising E numbers, I'm not sure society wins in that situation.

Its not cheap food alone, I struggle to find Mayonaise that doesn'thave added sugar. Added no doubt as they are using cheap oil to make it.Its also stuffed in top end stufff for the foodie fools as well eg MS Meals low fat muck etc.

 

[8ace]

or ketchup or Bread?
Cant stand Jamie Oliver hes a **** so its a no from me.

They don't have the same levels of fructose as fruit juice though.

 

[Frutos]

Alan won't be happy.

 

[Simster]

Its not cheap food alone, I struggle to find Mayonaise that doesn'thave added sugar. Added no doubt as they are using cheap oil to make it.Its also stuffed in top end stufff for the foodie fools as well eg MS Meals low fat muck etc.

You're right but I can't help thinking the sugar would simply be replaced by horrible chemicals to avoid the tax.

 

[beorhthelm]

the problem with a sugar tax is what its for, is it to raise money to combat health implications or its it to deter consumption in the first place. it cant do both.

tax a few pennies and it contributes to the tax revenue, pays for some health services, but wont impact consupmtion more than a marginal amount. if your packet of biscuits is 45p rather than 40p would that stop you buying them? no. tax a substantial amount to deter consumption and you're going to not raise much money. say .5p per g your biscuits are now 97p and you might think better of it. technically yes there is a point where you can optimise revenue, but as that means implicitly not taxing more to lower consumption, it puts they whole exercise on rather dodgy moral grounds.

those moral grounds are covered in landmines. with the low tax option the end you have a tax on the poor, because they either dont know or dont care. the middle classes are already calorie counting, so probably wont make much difference to them. with the high tax the more affluent can endulge in their sugary treats. and maybe thats exactly what it should be, a treat. only a Mars bar for christmas in your stocking. maybe we should ration sugar, i mean its for your health after all.

and then theres the scope of the tax, is this going to cover just added sugars or all sugars? Apple juice has more sugar than Coke, so thats a bit of a funny message to put out there. baking cake obvious going to be cut down, but some veg and alot of fruit is going to get taxed. so it'll just be the added right, but then how much is really being added, alot of bogus stories about processed foods being full of sugar, when you look at the ingredients its not (accounting for various names), or its little as a seasoning. beacuse "sugar" is a nature form of carbs too.

in the end it comes down to education and information. put simple labeling out there - stop tricks like the Ribena saying how much is in 250ml on the side of their 500ml bottle, and let people work it out. those that still wont reduce sugar use are the same that wont be affected by warnings not to have pizza and kebabs everyday. dont know what you can do about them.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Alan won't be happy.

Sweet of you to think of him

 

[Nibble]

We'd be better off setting a legal limit on the amount of sugar allowed in man made foodstuffs.

And add corn syrup and artificial sweeteners to that legislation
My rule of thumb is, if it has an advert, don't eat it.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

We'd be better off setting a legal limit on the amount of sugar allowed in man made foodstuffs.

And add corn syrup and artificial sweeteners to that legislation
My rule of thumb is, if it has an advert, don't eat it.

Very much so.

The salt story is very interesting, they reduced the content over time and no one noticed. Do the same with sugar, studies have shown people don't really notice down to about 9g/100g (most kids cereal has 15-18g).

Unfortunately experience has shown that carrot doesn't work with those who most need it and so it's time for a bit of stick.

 

[8ace]

Very much so.

The salt story is very interesting, they reduced the content over time and no one noticed. Do the same with sugar, studies have shown people don't really notice down to about 9g/100g (most kids cereal has 15-18g).

Unfortunately experience has shown that carrot doesn't work with those who most need it and so it's time for a bit of stick.

I've noticed it, Hula Hoops are pony these days with reduced salt and fat.

 

[matthew]

I am not really into the weight argument by reducing sugar in soft drinks,just not a big fan of sugar. So bring it on.

Do you know how much sugar is in beer?

 

[BadFish]

Very much so.

The salt story is very interesting, they reduced the content over time and no one noticed. Do the same with sugar, studies have shown people don't really notice down to about 9g/100g (most kids cereal has 15-18g).

Unfortunately experience has shown that carrot doesn't work with those who most need it and so it's time for a bit of stick.

I am not sure about the need for a tax but getting the information out to the consumer is key. I like the idea of labelling with the teaspoon thingy. This way consumers can at least make an informed decision based on knowledge of the facts.

 

[studio150]

How about a different approach. Reverse the selling of school playing fields and get children more involved in sport and exercise generally rather than sitting at home playing video games and spending hours on facebook or whatever is in vogue with youngsters. Make it compulsory to walk to school rather than letter parents drive them to school.

The problem is that if you look at parks in the summer they are virtually empty whereas previously you would have seen various football or cricket games going on, but now everything has to be organized.

This will have more impact on obesity

 

[beorhthelm]

Do you know how much sugar is in beer?

very little. but does have calaroies equal to the % alcohol. which is a good example of the problem of taxing sugar in isolation.

 

[Dr. Notthenineo'clocknews]

What I saved in the coop tonight on diet coke i reinvested in a packet of chocolate biscuits

 

[BadFish]

How about a different approach. Reverse the selling of school playing fields and get children more involved in sport and exercise generally rather than sitting at home playing video games and spending hours on facebook or whatever is in vogue with youngsters. Make it compulsory to walk to school rather than letter parents drive them to school.

The problem is that if you look at parks in the summer they are virtually empty whereas previously you would have seen various football or cricket games going on, but now everything has to be organized.

This will have more impact on obesity

to address this park thing you also have to address the culture of fear in parenting. To fill up the local parks again kids must be allowed to go out on their own and play in groups like they used to. This at present is labelled as bad parenting as 'you don't know who is out there'. My friend encouraged her kids to ride to our house to play with our kids at the school over the road from us. The tutting and finger pointing was unbearable.....'but what if......?'. imagine if something did happen she (and we) would have been lynched.

The problem with trying to address obesity but tackling just one of its causes is that it only goes part of way to addressing the problem. I think something else which should be considered is why so many parents choose to buy ready meals instead of cooking healthy food from scratch. Many families have both parents working long hours and simply do not have the time to cook. This is of course exacerbated because of the time contraints of constant running of kids to sport and other activities.

I think we need an entire culture shift to allow more time and space for kids to get out there and get healthy. More kids would be out and about if more of their mates were, as it is the playstation is an easy option that is constantly there for them.

 

[nwgull]

We should also ban use of the word big when describing someone who is fat. And stop giving out blue badges for fatties as well; they last thing they need is to be able to park right next to the supermarket.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

How about a different approach. Reverse the selling of school playing fields and get children more involved in sport and exercise generally rather than sitting at home playing video games and spending hours on facebook or whatever is in vogue with youngsters. Make it compulsory to walk to school rather than letter parents drive them to school.

The problem is that if you look at parks in the summer they are virtually empty whereas previously you would have seen various football or cricket games going on, but now everything has to be organized.

This will have more impact on obesity

Unfortunately the evidence is that we're no less active than 40 tears ago - recreational exercise was fairly non-existent back then.

 

[Machiavelli]

I started off disagreeing with this post, but find myself sort of agreeing with you. Ultimately, we have no control on how our taxes our spent. There is no point even pretending this money is going to be ring-fenced for healthcare, as that isn't even practical.

For me, it all comes down to how you want the nation to be taxed, and I'm afraid this is ultimately a tax on the poor and ill-educated.

It is. I want progressive taxation on income, but also governments making a stance on what goods should be discouraged. There is an obesity epidemic. This is structural, and a result of a shift in our diets, labour practices, etc.

 

[Machiavelli]

Its not cheap food alone, I struggle to find Mayonaise that doesn'thave added sugar. Added no doubt as they are using cheap oil to make it.Its also stuffed in top end stufff for the foodie fools as well eg MS Meals low fat muck etc.

Check out the fat and calorie content in mayonnaise. Don't eat that any more. [MENTION=5707]Nibble[/MENTION]'s rule of thumb is as good as any.