Many
countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a
single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages, and there are people who say
sugar is as deadly as tobacco.
In your place, is sugar as deadly as
tobacco as it is found in many countries?
How fair is it to tax sugar as severely as
tobacco is?
No
other dietary substance as sweet as sugar has ever generated this strong bitter
criticism in terms of the death toll it causes due to its willful intake,
especially in liquids. Though its plight is not different in my place, I do not
think it is alright to tax it as tobacco is.
In
my country, medical statistics on sugar-related health concerns reveals that
four out every 10 people above forty years are suffering from diabetics. With
this is another revelation that the new generation - teen-agers and children –
is consuming aerated sugary fizzy drinks in great quantities. This is obviously
a reflection of the fact that my place is vulnerable to huge number of deaths emanating
from a single substance as sweet as sugar. It is almost as deadly as tobacco,
but with a slight difference.
In
my view, it is not that fair to see sugar through the same prism used for tobacco.
Sugar is inevitable for human life and survival. For example, human body needs
a certain amount of sugar and its rise is as deadly as its fall. Naturally,
sugar has to be affordable for all as it is an additive for innumerable edibles.
The second thing is that tobacco is an addiction agent and it is slow killer. Sugar
kills, too, but only if taken in excess. Tobacco ensnares people whereas sugar
invites people. The latter is manageable.
My
conclusion is sugar as a substance is deadly, if not wisely used, and its impact
on my place is not different from elsewhere. However, it is rather cruel to tax
sugar as heavily as tobacco. What the world needs to know is that one venomous and
the other is virtuous. Let us spare sugar from heavy tax net.
285 words. 01.07.15.
4.30 am
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