Author Topic: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?  (Read 39801 times)

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Offline Mira

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #15 on: February 02, 2012, 09:19:22 pm »
I don't see how this is comparable to the drug war. The way I see it, a government regulation on the amount of sugar a manufacturer can add to their product would effectively do its job. Same way the government has gotten automobile manufacturers to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
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Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #16 on: February 02, 2012, 09:20:08 pm »
You know, it would be great if all the parents in the U.S. could just go down to their local Whole Paycheck Foods and cook up a nice non-sugary meal every night. Unfortunately, a lot of families can't afford that. Say what you will about sugar and fast food, but that shit's cheap and a lot of times it's the only thing they can afford.

I think part of the solution is to stop subsidizing farms and pushing for honest labeling (telling the consumer just how much sugar is in the product), but no other regulation should really be required.

And frankly I think there are problems with the BMI which make it a horrible measure of what is and isn't "obese".
« Last Edit: February 02, 2012, 09:22:31 pm by Wykked Wytch »
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Offline Nightangel8212

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #17 on: February 02, 2012, 09:20:42 pm »
Obviously, if some parents are letting their children, who do not have the knowledge of proper nutrition themselves yet, to eat whatever the hell they want, then yeah, someone SHOULD intervene and give them a proper education and tell them of all the health risks. If, after being aware of the health risks, the parents are still allowing their children to eat whatever they want, I can understand further intervention, but overall, the idea itself is retarded.

Rather than taxing the crap out of sugar laden food items, further nutritional education in the schools. Bring in people who have suffered from morbid obesity, diabetes and heart disease from an overconsumption of unhealthy food choices to talk to the students. Just looking at the kids and saying 'too much of this isn't good for you' isn't going to get the message across.

Ulitmately, it's up to the individual what they put in their bodies, but they should be made aware of all the potential long term risks involved in their life choices. If they decide to take that risk, then that's their decision.

As someone mentioned earlier, regulating alcohol doesn't stop minors from getting drunk. Why would taxing sugar make any difference?

Offline Vene

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #18 on: February 02, 2012, 09:22:32 pm »
You know, it would be great if all the parents in the U.S. could just go down to their local Whole Paycheck Foods and cook up a nice non-sugary meal every night. Unfortunately, a lot of families can't afford that. Say what you will about sugar and fast food, but that shit's cheap and a lot of times it's the only thing they can afford.
Here's a radical idea, take the money gained from taxing sugar and use it to subsidize healthier foods.

Offline Osama bin Bambi

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #19 on: February 02, 2012, 09:23:37 pm »
Washington had a candy tax once. It was stupid because even though it was intended to stop the spread of unhealthy foods, there were some candies like Kit Kats that were exempt from the tax because they were mostly wafers, and therefore, not candy.
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Offline Mira

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #20 on: February 02, 2012, 09:28:40 pm »
I don't believe in a consumer tax as far as this is concerned. I feel that the manufacturers should be discouraged from adding excessive amounts of sugar to their products. Putting an extra burden on the consumers is a bad idea.
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Offline Vene

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #21 on: February 02, 2012, 09:29:52 pm »
Blargh, you edited your post as I was responding:
I think part of the solution is to stop subsidizing farms and pushing for honest labeling (telling the consumer just how much sugar is in the product), but no other regulation should really be required.
This contradicts your previous concern as it would make food more expensive. Also, the food currently is labeled.

Quote
And frankly I think there are problems with the BMI which make it a horrible measure of what is and isn't "obese".
Where the fuck is this coming from? Does the BMI matter with respect to cancer or diabetes? I guess you could claim it might mean something with childhood obesity, but it doesn't matter because we see an increase. The obese point could be completely arbitrary and it would still be useful because we see that, over time, there has been a large increase in the weight of American children.

Offline Smurfette Principle

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #22 on: February 02, 2012, 09:41:24 pm »
A tax on the parents is terrible because it just makes it that much harder for parents to feed their kids, because almost everything has high-fructose corn syrup, even bread. If you want to reduce obesity, get rid of the sugar in the food first.

Offline Lithp

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #23 on: February 02, 2012, 09:50:51 pm »
Quote
Only when it's clear the parents are grossly incompetent in such matters.

Basically, this. Child abuse covers a lot of shit without us having to regulate it. We don't have to regulate food if a parent uses forcefeeding/overfeeding, for example.

Also, maybe the article doesn't reflect the research, but there's little actual science in there. As a matter of fact, a quick glance at the new food pyramid tells me that fats/oils/sweets are recommended at 6 teaspoons. So if you only have a spoonful a day, you're probably UNDERnourished. Why do I mention this? It's the title of the article.

Offline Mira

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #24 on: February 02, 2012, 10:01:43 pm »
Quote
Only when it's clear the parents are grossly incompetent in such matters.

Basically, this. Child abuse covers a lot of shit without us having to regulate it. We don't have to regulate food if a parent uses forcefeeding/overfeeding, for example.

I wasn't using this as an argument for regulation, I was disputing NightAngel's statement that parents should have the right to feed their children what they want. I probably should have been more specific.
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Offline nickiknack

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #25 on: February 02, 2012, 11:18:32 pm »
Rather than taxing the crap out of sugar laden food items, further nutritional education in the schools. Bring in people who have suffered from morbid obesity, diabetes and heart disease from an overconsumption of unhealthy food choices to talk to the students. Just looking at the kids and saying 'too much of this isn't good for you' isn't going to get the message across.

Ulitmately, it's up to the individual what they put in their bodies, but they should be made aware of all the potential long term risks involved in their life choices. If they decide to take that risk, then that's their decision.

It annoys me when people call this an attack on "freedom", like many teabaggers  do.
Sugar's very addictive and causes a lot of health problems...I mean, I love sugar, don't get me wrong, but that shit's like crack.

Ditto, it's my drug of choice too.

Offline DarkfireTaimatsu

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #26 on: February 02, 2012, 11:34:55 pm »
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Offline Captain Jack Harkness

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #27 on: February 02, 2012, 11:47:26 pm »
So my question is this.  If for whatever reason this goes through - or at least the age limit part - can a kid get arrested for Minor In Possession [Of Soda] and can an adult get arrested for distribution to minors?

For that matter, are they going to start regulating cartoons and ban sugar from being portrayed?
« Last Edit: February 02, 2012, 11:50:56 pm by B-Man »
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Offline RavynousHunter

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #28 on: February 02, 2012, 11:58:16 pm »
Yeah...that's the whole problem I have with this.  Its abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous, and does nothing to treat the problem.  It just looks like they're trying to do that.
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Offline Nightangel8212

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Re: Regulate sugar like alcohol and cigarettes?
« Reply #29 on: February 03, 2012, 12:07:23 am »
Yeah...that's the whole problem I have with this.  Its abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous, and does nothing to treat the problem.  It just looks like they're trying to do that.
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And incidently, I happen to eat a lot of junk food... not because it's necessarily something I WANT to do constantly, but because it's the only damn food my roommate and I can afford. The healthier options are simply too expensive for our budget. And even WITH the cheaper food items, we still run out of food before the end of the month and have to do things such as my roommate writing food items off at work, and me begging my parents for food and money. If the government wants people to eat healthier, they should damn well lower the prices of the healthier food options.

My mother was recently put on a strict diet, and is currently unable to afford the types of food she is required to eat. She has to get a doctors note for AISH so they will increase the amount of money she gets every month, and even THEN she's doubtful that the increase will help matters much.