"Many manufactured food and drink products contain high levels of sugar, which causes many health problems. Sugary products should be made more expensive to encourage people to consume less sugar. Do you agree or disagree?"
Many processed foods and drinks are packed with sugar and
this
leads to many health issues. I completely agree that sugar-packed products
should be sold at a higher price
to reduce their heavy consumption as it can encourage people
to switch to healthier options.
Many people
over-consume sugary products
because they are cheap. For example
, in many fast food outlets, sugary beverages are sold at a cheaper price
than water bottles. As a result
, customers consume more amount of sweetened soda than plain water during their meals. If these shops and restaurants were required to implement a 20% tax on such
drinks, many people
probably wouldn’t prefer ordering them anymore. A regulation like this
could be extremely effective in terms of preventing obesity among low-income people
since many of them are high consumers of cheap sugar-sweetened foods and beverages.
In addition
, making high-sugar products
more expensive can promote healthier eating choices. Increased prices of these products
make people
unable to afford them regularly, and eventually, they may turn to foods that are healthier and more affordable. For instance
, if a can of strawberry-flavoured beverage costs 3 times the price
of a box of fresh strawberries, why not choose the cheaper fresh fruits which can also
satisfy a craving for sugar. Although
fresh fruits also
contain sugars, natural sugars are much healthier than artificial ones.
In conclusion, sugar-sweetened products
should be made more costly to reduce sugar intake. For one thing, over-consumption of these products
is partly because of their low cost. For another, increasing their price
could encourage people
to choose healthier food.Submitted by nkamatam on
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