3 Practice A
Complete the set of notes for ‘Can taxation reduce obesity?’ using the key points
underlined above.
36 Part 1: The Writing Process
span. But the link between junk food and ill-health is not easily determined.
A physically active person could eat hamburgers daily and still keep slim. In this
respect it is quite different from drinking alcohol or causing air pollution.It has even been suggested that such a ‘fat tax’ might have the opposite effect and
reduce activity levels by forcing people to spend more time preparing food for
themselves, instead of buying it from fast-food outlets (Yaniv, Rosin and Tobol,
2009). Additionally, other studies on the effects of alcohol and tobacco taxes
indicate that the heaviest users of these products are the least influenced by price
rises, so that raising the price of hamburgers may do little to curb consumption
among the most avid consumers. As these are often also the poorest, the tax would
not only fail to improve their health, but would be regressive, making them even
poorer.(Rohan, J. (2010) Public Health Review8, p. 36)Source: Rohan, J. (2010) Public Health Review8, p. 36
Taxing junk food(1) __________________________________________________________________________
(2) __________________________________________________________________________
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(3) __________________________________________________________________________
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(4) __________________________________________________________________________
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(5) __________________________________________________________________________
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(6) __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________Goods > social harm (e.g. alcohol) have been taxed since 18th C.
US proposal to tax junk food > reduce obesity > cut medical
costs (diabetes, heart disease)