Sugar and other sweeteners are so toxic to the human body that they should be regulated as strictly as alcohol by governments worldwide, according to a commentary in the current issue of the journal Nature by researchers at the University of California , San Francisco - Yahoo News from Live Science by Christopher Wanjek.
The commentary went so far as to say that processed sugars have been as detrimental to society as alcohol and tobacco. According to the UCSF authors of the commentary, led by Robert Lustig, about 75% of U.S. health care dollars are spent on diet related diseases. Lustig, a medical doctor, says sugar is addictive and toxic and has a negative impact on our society, thus meeting established public health criteria for regulation. He advocates a consumer tax on any product with added sugar. Furthermore he proposes a ban on the sale of sugary drinks to children under the age of 17 and to tighten zoning laws for the sale of sugary drinks and snacks around schools.
Not long ago I wrote about a coming fat tax - if you are obese, you will be taxed. Now there are those that would tax the products that made you fat and tax you for being fat.
Does this sound insane? Yes. Is it likely to happen? Yes.
I’ll think about it awhile longer while I have a soft drink and a creme filled chocolate cupcake. Make that two cupcakes.
PMO
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