You do realize they already do control what you eat? e.g. in Canada, Produce has no taxes (No Apple Tax!).

Anyway, if taxing junk food is too much, I'd at least like to see mandatory labels on foods in stores and in restaurants, which specify High Fat, High Salt, and High Sugar products. Anything above 300% your daily intake (per carb consumed) should at the very least, be indicated by law.

You said you thought less then 25% people smoke now compaired to 2003.    Which means that if you though 100 people smoked in 2003, that 24 people smoke now in 2012.

The great reduction of smoking since the 60's, 70's came from people being made aware of how unhealthy smoking was.  Newer younger generations smoked less because they found out how unhealthy it was, while addicted people smoked until they got to the point of where they died or were forced to quit because of harsh illness.

Not from cigarrette taxes.  It's the same now really.  Smoking reduction comes primarily from young people just not smoking as much as older people because younger people know better now/cancer is stimitized now... and old people who smoked dieing.

Education is all that changes behavior.  Taxes and regulations only hurt the poor.

Well also alchoholics.

Would the whole sugar tax apply to booze?  Afterall it's quite sugary.  A lot of ex-alchohlics actually drink TONS of soda per day because they feel the urge to replace all that sugar that was in their beer/liquor.

Healthy?  No.   Better then them going back to being alcholics though.

I don't understand this comment. Maybe it's different in Canada. I go to the grocery and choose what I want; there are no restrictions on anything, no control at all.

Nutrition information has become a big deal and everything is labeled at the store. At fast food there are either charts or pamphlets with this information as well. 

Oh and as for food costs. I probably spend about ~$25 a week per person on food.

I'm part of a CSA (community shared agriculture) program.

So I pay a bunch of money upfront (around ~$30 a week) and get a bunch of locally grown organic seasonol vegetables...

and that's just pretty much what we eat outside of other money spent on stuff to add with in like tofu, with the occasional junk snack food or soda. Every once in a while we'll go out to eat, but my girlfriends vegan and the vegan places like us are actually really quite cheap.

It's actually tough to use everything we get... we get like half a bushel of vegetables... either per week or per 15 weeks, don't know bushels and they aren't 100% clear... but it's a ridiculous amount of stuff.

We've been getting DROWNED in greens lately. About to get delivery again and we're expecting

Sweet pea pods, Collards, Romaine lettuce, Carrots, Spinach, Spring Salad Mix Lettuce, Kale, Cabbage and Swiss Chard.


While we still have a ton of lettuce, green onions, carrots and bok choy left over from last week. And i have some beats from two weeks ago i haven't pickled yet... and the carrot greens just ended up wasted because of the huge ridiculous amount of stuff.

The government controls what you eat by controlling price.

e.g. Government supports people to eat healthy produce, by not charging tax on it (bringing price down).

Grocery Stores control what you eat with store layouts.

e.g. Grocery Stores always put produce at the main entrance. Do you know why? Produce has a higher profit margin, but a lower volume margin then chips/boxed food. By putting it at the front you force people to walk through and people give it a second thought. For the same reason, they put chocolate bars at cash.

At fast Food Restaurants there are Nutrituion Labels (mandated by the government) and often additional charts (not government mandated). Those additional charts are there at the descrepancy of the seller. e.g. McDonalds posts a chart where the Big Mac is low on Salt and Sugar content, and only just over the maximum intake for fat. However I think they get there numbers based on a 3,000 calorie diet, I dunno, I haven't ordered anything but coffee at McDonalds in ages.

My point was that in restaurants (the proper kind) there should be a government mandated indicator that certain foods are high fat/salt. You can't fit a nutrition label for every item on the menu. The only mandate in Canada right now is that there must be at least 1 vegetarian alternative, and it must be labeled. I'm saying foods with over 300% of the fat/salt/sugar/etc intake should be labels by law.

Oh, I did say that. Why did I say 2003? When did Cigarettes get that big tax? I remember they got taxed at some point in the early 2000's/late 90's.

WHOAH Cigarette tax in the USA is so little compared to Canada!

Okay, this I will agree with you on because we apparently went from a 4.45% tax in 2001 to a 8.6% tax rate in 2002, CBC says that the number of smokers is only down 3%, which is no different from the steady drop seen prior to the ban.

If anything caused a drop it's the anti-smoking labels.

------

Maybe taxing it won't reduce the number of junk food eaters, but someone else posted that Health Care is the biggest expense of the US government. Makes sense to let the people who abuse their bodies to pay for the health care which will help treat them. Don't you agree?

Why should I, a skinny healthy adult, pay for the hospital bill of a morbidly obese person? Why should I pay for someone else's mistakes?

Taxing Junk food (and reducing taxes on healthy food) will distribute that burden onto people who choose not to take care of themselves. This way, if you're poor, it's not because you're eating healthy and taking care of yourself.

Yes it makes sense. but there is no need for taxes to accomplish that. It would be easier and smarter to just have people pay for their own health care, or not get treatment, or pay as they go. Anything but government run and taxed health care.

That I 100% don't agree with, there should be no deterant to go to the doctor for a check up, there should be no deterant to getting an X-Ray or Blood test performed to see if you have cancer, and if you get in an accident,you shouldn't have to debate if you can make it without an ambulance.

I think it's stupid that if you think you're sick in the USA, you have to think about if it's worth checking up. Everyone I know in a country with free-health care agrees, by paying for health care in taxes, then people get the best service possible. If you need an X-Ray scan, or want to get a check up when you're older for cancer, there should be nothing stopping you, and this should be encouraged. There is no maybe, there is no second thought, if you think you have cancer, then you can get checked up, no problem.

Plus, it's not like everything is free. If you think you have a brain tumor, and need an MRI, you still have to pay for one in Canada. The government covers all services deemed necessary (abulances, cancer checks, doctor visits, even some types of sergury). However if you want to do anything excessive (like Lypbosuction for fat people, or an MRI), then you pay for it yourself.

Well we don't have those kind of picture things on are cigarettes either and have still seen a huge decline. It really is just a generational thing.

Price is of no consequence to what I eat. Not sure about others.

Food isn't taxed at all in most states. 

Never really thought about layout and I have to say it's a bit contrived. I walk down nearly every aisle, save the ones I don't need to like baking stuff and shampoo and what not.

It seems a bit silly to ask restaurants to label that. Most fast food would have the entire menu marked as such. It's common sense that fast food isn't healthy - adding a sticker won't solve anything.

I know quite a few sit down places that started offering "healthy" options as a special menu section. I think that's a good idea for people who care; the rest of us are eating out to enjoy ourselves and probably can't be damned to care about the nutritional value.