eau de porneau.

B.C. should tax junk food because 1 in 4 kids are overweight, says report

“Childhood obesity is a problem our province can no longer afford to ignore,” the report says in its blunt introduction. “The health costs to our children and the financial costs to our health system are reaching a crisis point and all leaders need to act.”

When I was in Halifax over the summer, I mounted an anti-smoking ban argument on the basis that pubs, restaurants and other such public facilities should have the right to decide on their own whether they want smoking or not inside their establishment. Patrons could then decide by their own accord whether they would like to be among smokers or not. However, my argument was rightly knocked down when someone brought up public health funds. In a nation with a mostly socialized health care system, certain things must be done to ensure the protection and preservation of said system. As stated by my dear sociology professor a few weeks ago, public health and fitness is not just a matter of preservation of public funds, it’s a matter of national security. A nation that is too fat to defend itself in the face of an emergency (and I’m not only referring to war. National emergencies such as floods, earthquakes, fires and such also count) is doomed.

My critique of the system proposed is it’s not comprehensive enough. Simply taxing a commodity will not necessarily stop people from using it. I’ve got no real evidence to support this, but I’d be interested in seeing how many people quit smoking when they increased taxes on cigarettes. What we really need, along with the plans put forth, are federal regulations on the amount of fat, cholesterol, and arguably most importantly, salt. I read an article a few months ago about how there’s an inordinate amount of salt in the food we eat.

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