According to a news report, Barry Popkin, a nutritionist from the University of North Carolina, believes people can be turned away from sodas and other drinks loaded with calories and sugar by putting a high tax on those items.
I have to say, I laughed out loud.
We are doing this with alcohol and with cigarettes and ... do I really need to say it ... it does not work.
With the cost of cigarettes at $4 or more a pack, people still have a two-pack a day habit. Think about that for a minute, $56 a week, $248 a month ... in my world that pays the monthly electric bill, water bill and telephone bill. Yet lots of people regularly drop that amount of money to roll the dice with lung cancer.
What evidence makes Popkin think people would drink fewer soda if they cost more, if the threat of obesity-related diseases doesn't make them cut back? Clearly in our consumer culture the cost of something is not really a deterrent. If you need proof of that, check the profits of tobacco and liquor companies. People are still consuming those items at the same rate even with the increases in cost.
Despite his laughable idea, he is right. Something needs to be done and soon. Taking in extra calories from drinks with high-sugar content without the appropriate changes in our exercise and other calorie consumption levels is dangerous to our overall health.
I guess doing something is better than doing nothing.