Doctors dismiss the tax on sweet drinks, which is also being discussed because of the urgently needed state revenue, as too expensive and ineffective.
Experts say there is no doubt that overweight and obesity are a global problem. Recently published data from a study published in the journal Lancet shows that one in eight people worldwide are now affected by these conditions. Since 1990, the prevalence of obesity among adults has more than doubled and even quadrupled among children and adolescents. The main factor associated with this devastating development: the rampant consumption of sweetened foods and drinks in all forms. “Results from large global cross-sectional studies show these health risks, with all their secondary diseases, such as diabetes, stroke or heart attacks, in almost all age groups,” suggests Prof. Dr. Markus Metka, pioneering anti-aging physician and respected nutritionist, alarm.
Alleged way out of the misery: To counter this development, several countries such as France, Mexico, Norway, Chile and Great Britain are relying on a sugar tax specifically on sweet drinks and soft drinks. This aims to promote a healthier lifestyle by encouraging the population to consume less sweet juice. Targeted diagnostic goal: These measures should result in a noticeably reduced sugar intake, which in turn is reflected in lower rates of overweight and obesity.
Sweets would become more expensive for consumers
“The example of Great Britain shows that no really relevant revenue can be expected because the drinks industry is completely dependent on artificial sweeteners to avoid tax,” says university lecturer Dr. Manuel Schatzer of the local SIPCAN Institute has fiscal expectations. Even more seriously – as a meticulous study of the situation in Great Britain shows – the population has become significantly heavier as a result of the sugar tax. The starting situation: In Great Britain, the level of tax depends on the sugar content. Soft drinks containing 5 to 8 grams of sugar per 100 ml are taxed at the equivalent of 0.21 euros per liter, soft drinks with more than 8 grams per 100 ml at the equivalent of 0.28 euros. The intention was for the Kingdom’s industry to absorb these taxes, but the increase was passed on to consumers in the affected countries.
Artificial sweeteners as loopholes
Above all, Schatzer criticizes the fact that a domestic sugar tax, spoon by spoon, could undo the intensive and successful efforts to get the population used to a gradually lower sweetness. In any case, he is convinced that no really relevant revenue can be expected “because the drinks industry relies heavily on artificial sweeteners to avoid the rather bitter tax.” The irony of the debate: the tax would – according to the unanimous opinion of doctors – have the opposite effect on the health of the population. The population would become measurably and significantly fatter, because even being inundated with sweeteners doesn’t make you slim. On the contrary, the various artificial substances actually induce the desire for ‘real’ sweets – by tricking the body. The approximately 600,000 diabetics in Austria know this from their own painful experience.
Tobacco and alcohol should be taxed more heavily
The cost of health care to the state – as in the British Isles – would inevitably rise in the long term. Also in the discussion again and again: an increase in tobacco and alcohol taxes, which IHS boss Holger Bonin recently called for. Last year, state revenues from domestic smokers rose to 2.14 billion euros.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
