ArnoldRimmer said:
Oh, come on. Do you want to be obese? No, of course you don't, because obesity has lots of disadvantages and very few (if any) advantages. So why should others? I at least have never met a single obese person who didn't prefer to be thinner. Obesity is usually a kind of addiction, quite similar to drug (alcohol, cigarettes, illegal substances) addiction. (The term "fat smoker syndrome" even points in that direction) That's because oral stimulation is the most basic and reliable source of "joy" - no matter how depressing your life is and how shitty your day was, pizza, chips, getting drunk etc. will temporarily brighten your mood. Of course you'll feel even worse tomorrow, when the scale says that you've gained even more weight - but no reason to worry, as burgers, fries and sugary soft-drinks are already standing by to quickly help you deal with that depressing moment as well. It's a vicious circle for the individual, but one with fantastic consequences for certain parts of the food industry. So I believe obesity should generally be dealt with like other kinds of addictions. If taxing cigarettes is considered a good idea because it has a positive effect on cigarette addiction, then taxing unhealthy food or ingredients might be a good idea as well. |
People want to eat unhealthy. The side effect of that is... Obesity. Therefore people want to be obese.
It becomes an addiction... sure? I don't see what that changes. You can break out of an addiction if you want to... but for most people it's too uncomfortable and they'd rather stay addicted. It's not there aren't any number of groups and programs dedicated to helping people.
and no. Taxing cigarettes is not a good idea.
You get a few people to quit, and doom the rest to further poverty.
Outside which, think about it this way. Instead of a tax on junk food. Would you be for a tax on the obese?
It would be EXACTLY the same thing... except only targeting those who have a problem with junk food, instead of everybody who even likes to have a bag of potato chips once a month. That would seem... extremely unfair to you wouldn't it?
Essentially a bunch of other people have to pay because some people over eat by a gigantic amount and we just don't like how it sounds having a "Fat tax". (Not all people are fat... but medical history can sort it out pretty well.
