Due to the alarming rate of the rise of numbers of people with other diet-related illnesses, a senate report on Canada's obesity crisis is calling for a tax increase on sugary drinks as well as a ban on food and drink advertising aimed at children and government subsidies for healthy food, CBC News reports.
Following the initiative of UK's government to call for an advertisement ban on junk foods' commercial on primetime TV, the Canadian Senate has issued a report that proposes 21 recommendations for dealing with the alarming health issue.
It includes the proposed increase on the sugar tax, advertisement ban and even a call for the Federal Government to rewrite Canada's food guide, without the influence of any food and beverage company.
Over the years, the number of people diagnosed with obesity has quickly climbed to an alarming rate. Since 1980, cases of obesity in adults have doubled and cases in children have tripled. Canada is also the fifth country in the world with the highest number of obese adults.
Despite the call's purest intentions, some people think that it will do more harm than good.
"The only thing a sugar tax will make thinner are Canadians' wallets," said Aaron Wudrick, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, in a release. "Good intentions do not always translate into good policy, and the record of these types of taxes in other jurisdiction leaves much to be desired," he firmly stated.
Also, the Canadian Beverage Association momentarily rejected the recommendation of the Senate to imply additional tax on sugary drinks and sugar, believing that it doesn't support the goal of a healthier public.
"This has been tried in other jurisdictions and it has failed. It didn't reduce obesity. It increased the price of groceries, and resulted in job losses in the food and beverage sector," said Jim Goetz, president of the Canadian Beverage Association, in a statement.
