The world’s biggest threat is not what you might expect. While many would point to climate change, war, or pollution, the most pressing danger is something much more commonplace: sugar. As global obesity rates soar, with significant impacts on public health, countries like Germany are taking bold steps to combat this issue by planning to impose a tax on sugary foods. In today’s DNA, Anant Tyagi analyses Germany’s bold step to tax sugar.
Obesity has become a major problem worldwide, including in India, and one reason for obesity is sweets. In our homes or around us, it is often said during moments of happiness, “Let’s have something sweet…” But Germany does not like this idea. A country like Germany is now planning to impose a tax on sugar because they believe that if they don’t, the number of obese people in their country will increase dramatically, and the health system will be disrupted.
According to a report, a large proportion of adults in Germany are becoming obese. In a country like Germany, one in five people is obese. Here, 7% of people have diabetes, and this number is rapidly increasing. This is why Germany’s Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, might implement a tax on sugar. Germany wouldn’t be the first country to do this; in 2018, a study showed that 28 countries had already imposed taxes on sugar in food and beverages, and several other countries are considering it.
In 2016, the WHO advised imposing a tax of 20% or more on sugary foods. Following this, many countries around the world imposed taxes on sugar. Imposing a tax on sugar is not easy for any country because taxes generate revenue for the government. However, considering people’s health and reducing diseases, taxing sugar can be an effective strategy. This will not only improve people’s health but also allow the tax revenue to be used for other health programs. And this is what the German government is planning now.