4 ms·

I think Norway are currently testing a sugar tax. That said, there are research that shows that sugar in drinks does not trigger the same biological saturation

by belorn 6y ago

I think Norway are currently testing a sugar tax. That said, there are research that shows that sugar in drinks does not trigger the same biological saturation triggers as sugar in food. The example I have heard is that eating an apple is completely different from drinking the juice of a pressed apple. The act of chewing and the fibers acts as a ques for the brain in order to know when the body has enough. The health risk of eating too many apples is low, but drinking too much apple juice is easy.

gspr 6y ago
> I think Norway are currently testing a sugar tax. We are, but it's got some paradoxical warts: a bag of pure sugar is not affected. Yet a sugar-free(!) soda is. It kind of makes a mockery of an otherwise good idea.
- Broken_Hippo 6y ago
  I'm OK with sugar-free being taxed as well. Sugar-free drinks that have artificial sweeteners are still sugary-tasting drinks. I think it is actually better overall if folks drop most sugary-tasting drinks in everyday life and save them for occasional use. I'm going to guess this sort of thing (all sodas) probably makes it less cumbersome to follow and as well.
  - gspr 6y ago
    > Sugar-free drinks that have artificial sweeteners are still sugary-tasting drinks. I think it is actually better overall if folks drop most sugary-tasting drinks in everyday life and save them for occasional use. That may be a debate worth having, but the sugar-tax debate was framed entirely in the context of the negative health effects of sugar. It's then dishonest and unconstructive to apply the tax to sweet sugar-free products.
  - tomjen3 6y ago
    Why? If they have no sugar in them, why should they be treated the same?
    - teddyh 6y ago
      Probably for the same reason that, while candy cigarettes have no tobacco in them, they are still outlawed. Artificial sweeteners gets people addicted to sugar, which is unhealthy.
      - gspr 6y ago
        > Artificial sweeteners gets people addicted to sugar, which is unhealthy. Perhaps so. But to lump it under a sugar tax seems dishonest to me, and may provide real and significant fodder for those who fight against such tax altogether.

by belorn 6y ago

gspr 6y ago

> I think Norway are currently testing a sugar tax. We are, but it's got some paradoxical warts: a bag of pure sugar is not affected. Yet a sugar-free(!) soda is. It kind of makes a mockery of an otherwise good idea.

Broken_Hippo 6y ago
I'm OK with sugar-free being taxed as well. Sugar-free drinks that have artificial sweeteners are still sugary-tasting drinks. I think it is actually better overall if folks drop most sugary-tasting drinks in everyday life and save them for occasional use. I'm going to guess this sort of thing (all sodas) probably makes it less cumbersome to follow and as well.
- gspr 6y ago
  > Sugar-free drinks that have artificial sweeteners are still sugary-tasting drinks. I think it is actually better overall if folks drop most sugary-tasting drinks in everyday life and save them for occasional use. That may be a debate worth having, but the sugar-tax debate was framed entirely in the context of the negative health effects of sugar. It's then dishonest and unconstructive to apply the tax to sweet sugar-free products.
- tomjen3 6y ago
  Why? If they have no sugar in them, why should they be treated the same?
  - teddyh 6y ago
    Probably for the same reason that, while candy cigarettes have no tobacco in them, they are still outlawed. Artificial sweeteners gets people addicted to sugar, which is unhealthy.
    - gspr 6y ago
      > Artificial sweeteners gets people addicted to sugar, which is unhealthy. Perhaps so. But to lump it under a sugar tax seems dishonest to me, and may provide real and significant fodder for those who fight against such tax altogether.