UK Sugar Tax - It's War!

I have no idea what the comparison of economic models has to do with taxing sugar.

I suppose there is a general agreement of a rejection of the big corporates who deal out nothing but a bland and sanitised product of the lowest denominator and an hope for a post-capitalist small scale, artisinal model of cooperation with no desire to stamp out others in the same field but bring quality and variety to market.

Just as Imperialism had had its day, capitalism too has had its day. Russia and China are the new free-marketeers and raw capitalists, and we can see just how this is terrifying the older capitalist economies which are desperately trying to keep a toe in the water by retreating into protectionism. I sense it won't last long; another generation or so.

Perhaps the artisinal model is just a reboot of capitalism, which has most certainly become entirely ridiculous and absolutely counter-productive.

I'll pick up what @Count of Undolpho said above - you can't fault people for imbibing what the capitalist machine has literally forced down their throats. Now it's a problem we should do something about it, but switching out sugar for other sweeteners is nothing but an answer for the corporates to their tax problem.

I'd rather wait in line for something I actually want than put up with the cheapest that can be produced.
 
I know a four-year-old who has fillings from too much sugar.
That is tremendously depressing. Poor kid.

Edit: on the other hand, I did a work experience at a dental practice. One regular patient had terrible teeth from too much carb intake, as a result of a condition in which their body used sugars at an alarming rate.
Similarly, crisps are terrible for your teeth as the starch is stickier, binds to teeth more than sugar and breaks down into sugars which subsequently rot the teeth.
 
''switching out sugar for other sweeteners is nothing but an answer for the corporates to their tax problem'' - That's why Sugar tax has everything to do with economic and political models.

Apparently, the people want the government that will take care of them and impose lots of rules with good aims but often bad ways. Noone can't blame the Corporations for doing what they're doing. They operate to survive and they have to do it by following rules and regulations. How to stop them from doing so - more rules? Also, you can't blame the government for trying to stop people using sugars - they have to pay for your healthcare.

My opinion is the people need to be more self-aware, take care more of themselves and take responsibility. Then it won't need so many rules & regulations.
OR simply ban all sugary things, alcohol, smokes, chips and salty snacks and whatever is bad for us.
Can't see the other way
 
I seem to remember seeing some science stuff about sweeteners being a problem because by their nature they fool the body into reacting to them as if they were sugar -
Tricking Taste Buds but Not the Brain: Artificial Sweeteners Change Brain's Pleasure Response to Sweet
Banning stuff as the drug wars show is not a great answer to problems, regulation can help but education (or indoctrination if you like) I think is what makes the difference. My 7 year old, who does gymnastics and generally runs round like a dynamo all the time, rarely eats sweets - she'd rather eat a bowl of frozen peas - and doesn't have a spare ounce of fat on her, was telling me the other day that the ketchup was healthy because it only had a few calories.
@pimple8 Getting people to be more self-aware etc. is a long and difficult road and would incorporate a quite radical shift in our whole society. Most people have little idea from moment to moment of what their own face is doing let alone anything else.
 
I seem to remember seeing some science stuff about sweeteners being a problem because by their nature they fool the body into reacting to them as if they were sugar -
Tricking Taste Buds but Not the Brain: Artificial Sweeteners Change Brain's Pleasure Response to Sweet
Banning stuff as the drug wars show is not a great answer to problems, regulation can help but education (or indoctrination if you like) I think is what makes the difference. My 7 year old, who does gymnastics and generally runs round like a dynamo all the time, rarely eats sweets - she'd rather eat a bowl of frozen peas - and doesn't have a spare ounce of fat on her, was telling me the other day that the ketchup was healthy because it only had a few calories.
@pimple8 Getting people to be more self-aware etc. is a long and difficult road and would incorporate a quite radical shift in our whole society. Most people have little idea from moment to moment of what their own face is doing let alone anything else.
Absolutely. It makes the body think it's getting more calories in (as sugars) than it is, so the body seeks that extra energy from somewhere, resulting in increased appetite and hence overeating. Net value is ultimately that someone might eat more without particularly realising it.
My younger brother was always the same, never fussed by sweets, rarely by chocolate, barely drank sugary drinks, never drank fizzy drinks (until he turned 18...), he's always been tremendously athletic also. On the flip-side, my OH's nephew has visible abs, aged 6, plays football and rugby against people almost twice his age (and holds his own) and lives on a diet not without sweets. He is actually a huge fan of his sweets/chocolates, but begs the question when his metabolism starts dropping (although many years away) would he struggle to break the habit?

Also, I concur, it's difficult to get people to realise what's good/bad for them otherwise fast-food chains wouldn't be so prevalent, despite their focus by media. Yes, they're easy and cheap but they've never been a particularly healthy choice. It seems the only way to really reduce somethings' impact on societies is to create a stigma about it. I.e. number of people smoking dropped when it was no longer the done thing to smoke indoors. It'll take years for people to really grasp the sugar-in-excess issue.
 
To be honest, unless you use only fresh homegrown or homemade food and drink then you are likely to consume all sorts of pesticides, preservatives, salt, sweeteners, colourings, etc etc. Its all about demand. People need feeding and unfortunately there are billions of them. We could start a cull, hopefully starting with some of the locals who drink in the boozer I work in!!!! :D
 
Spar has reformulated their Classic Cola. Thankfully M&S Sparkling Florida Orange has not been reformulated, I came home with six bottles with plans for more.
 
That is tremendously depressing. Poor kid.

Edit: on the other hand, I did a work experience at a dental practice. One regular patient had terrible teeth from too much carb intake, as a result of a condition in which their body used sugars at an alarming rate.
Similarly, crisps are terrible for your teeth as the starch is stickier, binds to teeth more than sugar and breaks down into sugars which subsequently rot the teeth.

Happily the child's mother has now seriously cut down her sugar intake and as they're her first teeth hopefully the improved diet will mean that her adult teeth will fare better.
 
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