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Sugar tax and offers ban 'would work' says report

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This is BS. They're really doing their best to **** on poor people. I hate the tories >: (
Original post by ChickenMadness
This is BS. They're really doing their best to **** on poor people. I hate the tories >: (


If you read the article, you'll see that Cameron is actually against it:

BBC News

A spokesman for David Cameron said the prime minister did not want to see the introduction of a sugar tax.


All it's saying is that Public Health England, which won't necessarily be full of Tories, say that this would work.
Original post by chazwomaq
Wow, holy authoritarian Batman! You want the government to ban sugary things? So a bag of sugar would be illegal?


No, I said reduce the amount. I don't think it's fair to charge consumers when companies are the ones who should be encouraged to improve the quality of their product.
Most people on this forum are either side of 20 and most won't be overweight. I realise that moralising about fat people is a very popular subject on this forum. Thing is being overweight/obese is not something that emerges overnight because of an individual's gluttony. It tends to be something that creeps up on you as you age. Get a decade of doing long hours in a sedentary job, working nightshift or taking on childcare roles under your belt and and many will find themselves the wrong side of plump.

The other thing is metabolic disorders like type II diabetes are not simply the case of weight x amount or consume x amount of calories and you'll get ill. They are complex, multi-faceted illness which, despite all the money sunk into research, we still don't understand that well. What we do know is that genetic susceptibility plays a significant role. That is why people who are not overweight do develop type II diabetes. It is worth bearing in mind when you think "I'm a normal weight hence can gorge myself on crap every now and again".
Original post by Captain Jack
No, I said reduce the amount. I don't think it's fair to charge consumers when companies are the ones who should be encouraged to improve the quality of their product.


Yeah, so if a product exceeds this amount, it would be banned. Is that not what you meant?
Original post by chazwomaq
Yeah, so if a product exceeds this amount, it would be banned. Is that not what you meant?


No, they would just be forced to reduce the amount.
Original post by chazwomaq
Yeah, so if a product exceeds this amount, it would be banned. Is that not what you meant?


Original post by Captain Jack
No, they would just be forced to reduce the amount.


There'd have to be different rules for different types of food and weight/amounts. Like, cakes would be allowed to have more sugar in than a curry. It would probably be madness :eek3:
Original post by Puddles the Monkey
There'd have to be different rules for different types of food and weight/amounts. Like, cakes would be allowed to have more sugar in than a curry. It would probably be madness :eek3:


Surely also, this is going to hit bakeries/patisseries/sweet shops as well... They'd really suffer!
Original post by Puddles the Monkey
There'd have to be different rules for different types of food and weight/amounts. Like, cakes would be allowed to have more sugar in than a curry. It would probably be madness :eek3:


Just make your cake and make your own curry and you have control over sugar :dumbells:

:bl:
Would high sugar fruit be taxed? Things like apples (some breeds like golden delicious) have been bred to progressively increase their % sugar. Surely they would have to be taxed too, otherwise we'd start involving shaky definitions of what's 'natural' and what isn't.

If fruit is exempt then what does that mean for smoothies which can have more sugar than a coke?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Captain Jack
No, they would just be forced to reduce the amount.


i.e. banned.
Reply 51
Avatar for O$car
O$car
2
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think the idea of sugar tax is just downright STUPID.

Why? I get that sugar tax could decrease total consumption of sugar in UK but what about us skinny people who enjoy the occasional "sugar binge", now because of this sugar tax we have to pay MORE for the same thing!

To decrease overall sugar consumption could be dealt with in other ways, for example: massively increasing awareness against obesity and type two diabetes. This is just another way for the government to juice some more money from everyone of us!

SMH
Original post by Captain Jack
No, I said reduce the amount. I don't think it's fair to charge consumers when companies are the ones who should be encouraged to improve the quality of their product.


Well, you said reduce the percentage which is quite different.
Original post by O$car
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think the idea of sugar tax is just downright STUPID.

Why? I get that sugar tax could decrease total consumption of sugar in UK but what about us skinny people who enjoy the occasional "sugar binge", now because of this sugar tax we have to pay MORE for the same thing!

To decrease overall sugar consumption could be dealt with in other ways, for example: massively increasing awareness against obesity and type two diabetes. This is just another way for the government to juice some more money from everyone of us!

SMH


Even more stupid when you consider that the total intake from "sugary" drinks and etc have been gradually decreasing over the past 10 years without a tax
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
REGRESSIVE TAX


that's the entire reason these taxes are effective, dude.
I don't think it would work to be honest because even people would have to pay more they wouldn't necessarily be discouraged because they would still like the sugary foods.
How about we start to treat society in such a way that the individuals have to actually *shock horror* take responsibility for themselves. No, they don't have to take responsibility for kids starving in Africa, nor people who get upset when you address them by the wrong pronouns, nor feminists who think that the world revolves around them. Just themselves. Wouldn't that be a good place to start?
Original post by CloakedSpartan
that's the entire reason these taxes are effective, dude.


Culling everyone beyond a certain age woukld be an effective way fo dealing with the age crisis. Whether something is effective or not is not the only factor to consider.
well it dosen't help that the donut on the TSR homepage looks so tasty...
Does anyone have a link to the report in question? I'd really like to see the evidence it uses to claim that a sugar tax could actually work. The same claim has been made before with little evidence backing it up, and this latest report might not have good evidence behind it either.

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