Summary
The article "Soda Tax Battle" discusses about levying tax on soft drinks in America. The beverage industry states that there is no connections between sugary beverages and obesity as well as people will not support taxing of grocery items such as soft drinks. However, other people and researchers claim that there are dozens research and studies point out that sugary drinks significantly increase the risk of obesity, as well as Type 2 diabetes. Taxing on soft drinks can reduce people consumption of sugar and help people to become healthier. Also, U.S. Rep. Delauro proposes a federal tax on sugary drinks called the SWEET Act. The tax revenue will be about $10 billion and will set up a fund to help prevention, treatment and research for diet-related health conditions. Delauro also points out that we should not rely on industry to deal with the problem voluntarily. This implies that people should do something to change the situation.
Response
After reading various articles and studies, I believe that sugar is one of the causes of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. However, the U.S. government does not have enough regulations on controlling people to consume sugary drinks. The government can enact laws to force the soft drinks companies to put warning labels on the sugary drinks to remind the consumer. Also, it is acceptable to levy tax on soft drinks as they are not daily necessities. Taxes on soft drinks will not bring a huge burden to the general public as there are lots of substitutes in the market.Levying tax on sugary drinks can greatly reduce the sugar intake of America. Government can use the tax revenue to help people rid of obesity and doing research on obesity problems.
Text-based questions
1. Other than sugar, are there any other ingredients in the soft drinks that will lead to obesity?
2. How much tax is suitable to put on the soft drinks?
Good questions!
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