After tobacco, alcohol, it is the turn of sodas to suffer the consequences of the dry diet imposed by the government. For the first time in France, these non-alcoholic drinks may have to pay a tax, which should come into force on 1er January 2012. Mineral waters, drinks with sweeteners and fruit juices without added sugar will be exempt from this tax.
This measure was announced by Prime Minister François Fillon as part of the budgetary austerity plan. The objective invoked by the government to justify this tax? The fight against obesity. Between 1997 and 2009 a Frenchman gained on average 3.1 kilos while his height increased by 0.5 centimeters. The 120 million revenue that these levies should normally bring to social security funds would therefore have a public health goal. It remains to be seen what impact this tax will have on consumers. Not sure that this measure has a deterrent effect for heavy drinkers of sugary drinks.
On the side of professionals in the food sector, we denounce a stigmatizing measure, which according to them amounts to considering sugary drinks as dangerous products for health in the same way as tobacco and alcohol. Health professionals seem just as skeptical about the usefulness of this measure, which some of them consider insufficient to fight against the problem of obesity. If we tax sodas, why not tax chocolate bars and other sweets? The debate has begun.
