Essay Sample on New Zealand: Taxation on Sugar & Its Impact on Health

Introduction

New Zealand is among the last nations to consider the taxation on sugar, alongside Australia. This has directly and indirectly caused the increased in sugar consumption due to its availability and affordability and the consequences for this are seen in the health of New Zealanders. Therefore, regulations are paramount when it comes to the quantity of consumption, and the best way to accomplish this is through the imposing of taxes. These taxes can be applied depending on the quantity of sugar in a beverage or snack. Therefore, the more the sugar the more an industry and consumers pay.

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Increased sugar consumption There has been a dramatic increase in sugar consumption among new Zealanders, from the added sugars to sugars in other food products. Tax would significantly reduce consumption

Health risks associated with sugar intake Diabetes, hypertension, obesity and other complications and conditions caused by high sugar intake have become prevalent in new Zealand. Tax introduced as a way to limit the sugar content in products as well as the consumption of sugar primarily

Counterargument There are many other ways to combat increased sugar consumption and the health risks than making new Zealanders pay for it

Rebuttal Issue like diabetes are from well-known causes. Therefore, why tackle an issue at its complex end rather than cut it off at its root level?

The consumption of sugar has since the 17th century been part and parcel of the meals, beverages, and snacks for many New Zealanders. This consumption has however experienced drastic dynamics over the years, with people consuming sugar in unprecedented quantities. According to the world health organization, the standard consumption of sugar for children should be three teaspoons per day, and adults six teaspoons but New Zealanders consume up to six times more. The Sugar Research Advisory Service documented intake of 67g/day in males and 61.1g/day in females between the ages of five and fourteen. The aftermath of this consumption has been an increase in type 2 diabetes. To avert this, New Zealand should introduce a Sugar Tax.

Sugar consumption has, in many instances been linked to health risks. Sugar, and hence sugar-sweetened beverages are widely consumed in New Zealand, yet they have considerably little nutritional benefit. On the contrary, they are linked to several non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues (Robertson, Thyne & Green, 2018). By imposing taxes, industries will be encouraged to limit the sugar content is products, promote lower sugar content products and pass the cost to consumers making low-sugar products economically friendly. This will hence significantly reduce cases of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular defects.

Conclusion

It might, however, be unrealistic to combat high sugar consumption by forcing the pockets of people. There are many other ways to do this, such as self-regulation in industries, and mass education. However, self-regulation has existed in New Zealand, but this has not borne fruit. Therefore, imposing taxes is the only way sugar consumption will go down, and health goes up. New Zealand should hence introduce a sugar tax.

References

Added sugar consumption in New Zealand. Sugar Research Advisory Service. Retrieved from https://www.srasanz.org/sras/news-media-faq/sras-articles/added-sugar-consumption-new-zealand/

Robertson K., Thyne M. & Green J. A. (2018). Supporting a sugar tax in New Zealand: Sugar sweetened beverage ('fizzy drink') consumption as a normal behavior within the obesogenic environment. Peer J. 6. Pp. 5821-5830. Doi: 10.7717/peerj.5821