Australia's PM slaps down call for sugar tax as obesity levels reach 'crisis point'

[Molis]

Unnecessary taxing is not going to help or stop an obesity epidemic.

Everything not in moderation and I mean everything can be unhealthy.

Eat nothing but celery for an entire week and see how that goes.

[Aeula]

If you think food without added sugar is bland then it sounds like you too have a sugar addiction. All sorts of foods without added sugar are absolutely delicious. The sugar industry relies on people becoming addicted to their sugary drinks and foods to continue making millions. Everyone would be better without high amounts of sugar even if you aren't obese "yet"

I've tried sugar free stuff. It all tastes like it was fished out of a toilet with a blood-stained tampon.

[Firedaisy]

Unnecessary taxing is not going to help or stop an obesity epidemic.

Everything not in moderation and I mean everything can be unhealthy.

Eat nothing but celery for an entire week and see how that goes.

If it was just a week and you drank water you'd actually be fine unless you were extremely underweight and malnourished. An obese person could go week or months without eating at all without starving. They would only require water for hydration and a multivitamin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/. Link is a document about an obese man who fasted over a year and had a medical team monitoring the effects. Not eating everyday is actually not bad for us in the least. like i said unless you have some kind of serious health condition, underweight, or pregnant.

[-Nurot]

Nah you just slap a tax on it like they do with smokers, it will make an impact.

Smoker's haven't quit smoking because of the taxes that I'm aware of.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Smoker's haven't quit smoking because of the taxes that I'm aware of.

There are a lot less of them smoking than there used to be and when you consider the addictive substances and the generations it's gone through to finally make some headway that is very important.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-smok...asnt-in-years/

This is something that should have been done a long time ago, people aren't going to like it, but that's ok people don't like to be forced to do something they don't want to do, especially if they are addicted.

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Just tax the fat people for being fat instead of raising the cost of sugar.

Well tax people for having cancer, tax people for specifically being alcoholics, you can't tax people for having a problem or a disease, and you can't use those arguements to say well nobody else needs to be prevented from getting cancer or warned.

[Firedaisy]

I've tried sugar free stuff. It all tastes like it was fished out of a toilet with a blood-stained tampon.

I'm not talking sugar free stuff.... That stuff is garbage. I'm talking vegetables, fruits. REAL food. Stuff that contains sugar, but not added sugar. The thing is with food that naturally contain sugar and are not processed they come with fiber or protein and all sorts of other things that help your body to break down everything and make use of it, not storing it. When you excessively consume sugary foods it causes your body to pretty much start to destroy itself slowly. And most products with added sugar to make it "taste better" use HFCS which is a whooole 'nother level of horrendous. http://articles.mercola.com/sugar-side-effects.aspx

[rogueMatthias]

Obesity epidemic, and nobodies mentioned going to the gym yet.

Rather than just tax people, why not subsidise gym membership or healthy foods?

[IIamaKing]

Good, sin taxes are bullshit.

[-Nurot]

There are a lot less of them smoking than there used to be and when you consider the addictive substances and the generations it's gone through to finally make some headway that is very important.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-smok...asnt-in-years/

This is something that should have been done a long time ago, people aren't going to like it, but that's ok people don't like to be forced to do something they don't want to do, especially if they are addicted.

Right, but that seems more like a combination of a cultural shift and education. Now you have people smoking marijuana and vaping instead of smoking cigarettes. Also now that we know the health ramifications of smoking a lot of people have quit for that reason alone. I don't know anyone who has smoked in the past and quit due to an increase in price, taxes or otherwise. The price savings ends up usually being an added perk to quitting not the reason for it.

[IIamaKing]

Which means he isn't taking meaningful action. A problem don't you think?

Punishing others via taxation due to the few's inability to control themselves is not a suitable solution.

[Super Kami Dende]

Good. Taxing people that aren't overweight that enjoy sugary food just because others are fat and have no self-control is just punishing people for other peoples fuck ups.

[IIamaKing]

There are a lot less of them smoking than there used to be and when you consider the addictive substances and the generations it's gone through to finally make some headway that is very important.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-smok...asnt-in-years/

This is something that should have been done a long time ago, people aren't going to like it, but that's ok people don't like to be forced to do something they don't want to do, especially if they are addicted.

There are more factors at play with smoking aside from simple taxation. Education on the health risks and societal pressure are HUGE game changers when affecting behaviors.

[Deleted]

What's this guy doing?

Valuing personal liberty over social engineering?

We really need some better leadership in Australia.

I like personal liberty.

This is unacceptable. We can either move forward on the obesity crisis or we can not. Simple choice.

There is no evidence whatsoever that a tax does anything but tax the poor.

[Doctor Amadeus]

There are more factors at play with smoking aside from simple taxation. Education on the health risks and societal pressure are HUGE game changers when affecting behaviors.

All true, it isn't going to change overnight, but it's an effort that should have been aggressively sought a long time ago.

[PickleballAce]

Getting fat on Vegemite and Fish & Chips. Sounds terrible. At least Americans have the excuse of actually having real cuisine.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Right, but that seems more like a combination of a cultural shift and education. Now you have people smoking marijuana and vaping instead of smoking cigarettes. Also now that we know the health ramifications of smoking a lot of people have quit for that reason alone. I don't know anyone who has smoked in the past and quit due to an increase in price, taxes or otherwise. The price savings ends up usually being an added perk to quitting not the reason for it.

Yes, but you know someone had to make unpopular decisions that forced people to act at one point, all I am saying is that, it's a good thing, when people are pushed enough to care about something that will for sure make them much healthier.

[Firedaisy]

Obesity epidemic, and nobodies mentioned going to the gym yet.

Rather than just tax people, why not subsidise gym membership or healthy foods?

Over eating is actually a much larger problem than lack of exercise. You can sit in a chair all day long and hardly do anything and lose weight by simply consuming less than you use. Exercise is not necessary.

Now, when I say that it is not needed I am in no way saying people should NOT exercise. Quite the contrary actually, exercise is the only way you can grow muscles and help keep your body in shape with healthy bones and joints. Exercise is GREAT for you and your body! But the main way to lose weight is actually controlling your diet. No matter how much you exercise if you do not control what you eat you will still become obese. And if you are short of time in the day it is much faster to NOT eat that slice of cake than to spend over an hour jogging to burn it off, maybe more depending on the size of the slice or type of cake.

But I agree that healthy foods and education on eating right and exercising should be easily and readily available to everyone. And you don't need a gym membership to exercise, don't ever let that be your excuse to not exercise.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Obesity is a much larger (no pun intended) issue than just cost. Smacking taxes on food isn't the answer. Education, rewards for getting healthy and time something many people lack to cook at home. Is whats needed. Could you imagine if a medium size company held a thing were they would pay 5 bucks for each pound lost (for the sake of this example I'd say a minimum of 15 pounds) and provided easy to make and heat up recipes? While they pay in tbe short term. Long term could help them out immensely.

Well I see what you mean, and I agree, but I am glad this is a conversation to be had, and it should be taken seriously. Obesity is a huge problem, and Media's influence marketing whatever intentional or not has a share in this. We have to do something before the next evolutionary event for humans is becoming Jabba the Hut.

[AcidicSyn]

I smoked for years; ballooning prices on packs of smokes did exactly nothing to stop me from smoking. All it did (and I suspect I may not be alone in this) was make me spend more money on said smokes. The frequency did not change, I simply paid more; allocating more of the budget to smokes; which took away from things like food.

Of course it was a stupid decision. Point being increased taxes did fuck all for it. What made me finally quit? Combination of the fiance (support system) and finding an infinitely cheaper, healthier, and just as enjoyable method for getting my nicotine (vape).

For sugar; I'd take cost vs taste from that and apply it here. People are going to drink what tastes great to them and costs the least repercussions be damned. Find drinks that are healthier and taste good (or better) and, most importantly, make sure they cost less than the trash does. Simple right? Sadly, not so much. It's easy for me to say that, but I couldn't tell you how to begin to make that a reality.

I think one good place to start though could be culture; get them in grade school. Maybe more funding for middle and high school health class than football and arts programs?

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Well I see what you mean, and I agree, but I am glad this is a conversation to be had, and it should be taken seriously. Obesity is a huge problem, and Media's influence marketing whatever intentional or not has a share in this. We have to do something before the next evolutionary event for humans is becoming Jabba the Hut.

You just made me think of the humans on the spaceship from WALL-E.

[Doctor Amadeus]

I smoked for years; ballooning prices on packs of smokes did exactly nothing to stop me from smoking. All it did (and I suspect I may not be alone in this) was make me spend more money on said smokes. The frequency did not change, I simply paid more; allocating more of the budget to smokes; which took away from things like food.

Of course it was a stupid decision. Point being increased taxes did fuck all for it. What made me finally quit? Combination of the fiance (support system) and finding an infinitely cheaper, healthier, and just as enjoyable method for getting my nicotine (vape).

For sugar; I'd take cost vs taste from that and apply it here. People are going to drink what tastes great to them and costs the least repercussions be damned. Find drinks that are healthier and taste good (or better) and, most importantly, make sure they cost less than the trash does. Simple right? Sadly, not so much. It's easy for me to say that, but I couldn't tell you how to begin to make that a reality.

I think one good place to start though could be culture; get them in grade school. Maybe more funding for middle and high school health class than football and arts programs?

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You just made me think of the humans on the spaceship from WALL-E.

HAHA, funny because that is exactly what I had in mind.


I also think as a smoker you have a pretty good perspective.