Effect of Food Prices on the Prevalence of Obesity - Essay Example

Sugar should not be taxed

When the government wants to reduce the number of people purchasing or consuming a particular product, taxation is the first answer. The feeling is that the regulations have become too many. Everyone feels as though everything has to be based on a certain platform that will increase the taxes and automatically reduce the number of people using that product. Sugar, one of the essential ingredients in many soft-drink companies and food companies is a recent victim of this attack. The government, following the guidelines from WHO, believes that the best way is to tax sugar and place it in the same category with alcohol and tobacco. Taxing sugar is not the right way to go. Something else needs to be done to reduce the amount of sugar consumed in the society.

Sugar is not the main cause of obesity though it plays a role. One thing is that the development of a healthier community is based on the changes regarded within the changing environments. A healthy society requires the use of the intended notions that will lead to the development of such avenues that work on reducing the doubts that come when such attributes are considered (Bødker, Pisinger, Toft and Jørgensen 200). The idea is to realize that some of the attributes that come with taxing sugar will not be based on what the government believes. For instance, when sugar is taxed, it will increase the prices for the products that use it mainly for the production of their products. The increase in prices will lead to a modification of products to consume the cheaper ones that may be of a lower quality that allowed. The situation is therefore not as straightforward as one would like (Briggs, Mytton, Kehlbacher, Tiffin, Rayner and Scarborough 187). The government understands that it must protect the consumers at all times, but that does not mean leading them towards a dangerous road towards the substandard products that will suit their budgets. The taxes will not add more money into their pockets. It will just mean a change to the way they utilize their money while shopping for similar products (Dharmasena and Capps 670).

One thing everyone agrees to is that obesity and lifestyle-related diseases are a threat to the current generation (ECSIP 6). It should be considered a policy issue that needs immediate answers to help reduce the number of people succumbing to it. Taxing people shows that the government has failed in its policy formulation exercise, something that tells a lot about a need to increase the level of development in this area (Bødker, Pisinger, Toft and Jørgensen 201). Coming up with issues of taxation create a difficult strategy that provides a difficult means of addressing the social problems present, and that also implies learning about the reflected modifications that augment the different attributes that come with such decision-making processes.

Based on the law of unintended consequences in action, it is always important to understand the role of incentives within the society. It is important to examine the alterations that will occur when the government starts regulating the consumption of sugars in the country and what the alternatives will be (ECSIP 6). By increasing the taxes, it means giving people incentives for trying out unfavorable options; an aspect they will embrace. It is essential to scrutinize the various healthcare subsidies that emanate from making some of the health decisions that have been condemned by international bodies. It is important to look at the adjustment that will be witnessed within the society, a feature that will be consequential in the way people will review the whole process (Bødker, Pisinger, Toft and Jørgensen 202). The aim is not to make the wrong decisions but provides a benchmark that people can use to define the level of development that directs clients to make payments as intended. It does not mean that providing the taxes will be the best way of regulating the amount of sugar consumed in the country. What works, in theory, does not necessarily work in practice (Jensen and Smed 21).

Four scenarios can be used to make the comparisons. The first one has been discussed above in the form of alternative cheaper products that come with the changing developments within the society. It is critical that the government is aware of this (Briggs, Mytton, Kehlbacher, Tiffin, Rayner and Scarborough 187). The second scenario is concerning the tax being absorbed by the industries, and the prices are not passed on to the clients. The implication is that profits will fall, but the sales will remain on course. The industries will want to take up in the growth of the economy, but if they do not increase the prices, it means the policy being targeted will not succeed. This will be bad for the industries and the government, but good for the client (Briggs, Mytton, Kehlbacher, Tiffin, Rayner and Scarborough 187). Scenario number three looks at the possibility of the client responding to the taxes by switching to the cheaper brands. The other problem with this is that the back market might benefit from this. People could turn to these markets to gain what they lack in the convenience stores. The fourth scenario looks at the fact that the consumers could decide to buy less and then move on to products that could be cheaper but contain higher calories (Han and Powell 130). For instance, if the price of beer is lower than that of soda or fairer compared to the other, consumers could make that an option. They could also buy more chocolate to supplement the cola they cannot afford. Substitution effects, therefore, will now shift to making another industry make more profits while the targeted industry fails (Briggs, Mytton, Kehlbacher, Tiffin, Rayner and Scarborough 187).

Based on the detrimental effects of the unchecked increase of taxes, the governments need to come up with other options. Incentivizing the industries to absorb the tax could be a good thing, but the clients are still making higher purchases. The clients who will turn to cheaper products need to be addressed. That will be the source of all problems (Colchero, Popkin, Rivera and Ng 704). The government will start curing or spending the money on alternative facilities that do not offer the same advantages. The government should rethink its decisions since it has not managed to end the endemics affecting the population now (Edwards 284).

Taxes

Imposing taxes will be beneficial to the government and the industries. The industries will have to oblige to the regulations in place. They have to pay the taxes and meet all the demands as required by the law (Jensen and Smed 22). The implication is that they will pass on the price to the customers. They will make more profit and remit higher taxes to the government. The government will use that to hopefully develop infrastructure and assist the communities in developing better lifestyles (Bødker, Pisinger, Toft and Jørgensen 202). The problem is that the issue of better lifestyles will not be occasioned by having higher taxes. Instead, it will involve working hand in hand with the health department to look for initiatives that could assist in developing the best way of handling the issues affecting the society as a whole. Instead of making the wrong demands, it is imperative that the society is provided with healthier options that will make them respect the decisions made by the government (Han and Powell 132).

An aspect of the taxation process that has to be examined is touching on the farmers. The provision of sugar is a huge industry that has employed millions of people across the country and the world as a whole (Dharmasena and Capps 672). By refusing to acknowledge the impact this has in the society, the government is looking for increased unemployment cases in the society. It is already an issue and increasing more unemployed persons due to the closing of industries will be disastrous. The tax leads to fewer sales and companies could fee their efforts are going to waste. Closing the factories will mean that they can save on the costs and reduce the losses (Briggs, Mytton, Kehlbacher, Tiffin, Rayner and Scarborough 187). Some could lay off their employees, an aspect that could be disastrous for the employees the farmers would have to sell fewer canes, and the plantations would suffer due to unavailability of factories to take in their cane. The food and beverage industry would suffer a major setback as its main ingredients would be out of reach, and their foods would have to retail at higher costs (Colchero, Popkin, Rivera and Ng 704). The implication is that they too would be forced to cut their losses and lay off more clients. The government would be faced by civil unrests as the industry is considered one of the largest employers in the world. The agricultural sector also has millions of employees who would be affected in one way or the other (Han and Powell 132).

Sugary drinks present quite a small fraction of the population’s intake of energy and only 3% in Britain the feeling is that the wrong foods are being taxed, yet the whole issue is on the required delivery of healthy provisions. The implication is that the evidence of the products does not show the reality of having higher taxes, yet the saturated products only create a different modification that requires an understanding of the situation of the ground (Dharmasena and Capps 676). The consumption of sugars could lead to obesity, but has to be in conjunction with other foods. As such, directing the wrath on sugar alone does not guarantee a society devoid of obesity cases. It only pushes the society towards an option that could be disastrous to its health.

The taxation of sugar should be done away with. Rather than think of such attributes as taxation of sugar, more policies are required to build the economy. Incentives will be good to improve the way the factories will use their time to engage in such activities it is clear that the premium brands with higher calories will be in demand, and that will not attain anything. People have to be encouraged to assume active lifestyles, an aspect that can reduce such cases in across the society. It is important to establish the layouts that will, in turn, improve the delivery of the required foods rather than adapt laws that will not regulate the industry but strain it.