Should Thailand tax junk food to help fight obesity?

[Jingthing]

There is somewhat of a global trend for governments to tax junk food / sugary drinks to combat obesity. Obviously, it's controversial. Thailand's obesity problem grows worse every year. Thailand already taxes alcohol and tobacco excessively and in some cases (WINE) seemingly irrationally.

So what is your opinion.

Some background on the issue:

Barry Popkin, a professor at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health and author of a book titled "The World is Fat," said the Mexican beverage tax could follow the course of disincentives on smoking that have taken hold in many countries. "We'll have evidence within a couple of years. That's when you start to see the domino effect."

http://www.cuencahighlife.com/post/2013/12/28/Latin-American-countries-including-Ecuador-fight-fast-and-processed-food3b-The-industry-fights-back.aspx

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jingthing

[MJP]

Nothing controversial about it, JT.

[Jingthing]

I think they should tax white rice as well and encourage eating BROWN rice with economic incentives. The key is the Thai youth. Any child that become obese is highly probable to be fated to be obese for life, a shorter life.

While they're at it they should seriously reduce the WINE tax because wine is good for you.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jingthing

[transam]

Daft topic cos Thais eat raw fat, sugar and salt in their every day diet..............

[benalibina]

U started this poll with Judd in mind ?

[Jingthing]

Daft topic cos Thais eat raw fat, sugar and salt in their every day diet..............

One reason I mentioned taxing white rice which is basically SUGAR. Some fat, sugar, and salt is fine of course.

Thailand already uses taxation for social engineering. Often very, very clumsily but they still do it. This seems a natural for Thailand except for one thing. The people would HATE it. They love this junk food!

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

U started this poll with Judd in mind ?

Not really, prevention tactics are too late for him.

[culicine]

Plenty of different food types can make you fat, depending on how much is consumed, and not just junk food. We could tax rice then....the government would make a killing, but most of it is sitting in warehouses now:)

Kids are getting fat partially because because they have become too comfortable in their lives - they go home and sit at a computer all evening playing games, unlike in the past when kids did not have computers - we went out to play with our friends and hence got some exercise. This is not just Thailand but a world-wide problem.

[Jingthing]

I agree. It's a global problem and Thailand is on the globe. To say it is ONLY about exercise or ONLY about poor diet is daft. It's about ALL of that and more. One thing that amazes me about Thailand is how it is often difficult to buy products that are not packed with sugar. It's bad enough that they offer the super sweet options, but the limitations on the non-sweetened ones even being for sale is pretty crazy.

[samran]

If the junk food leads to strains on the public health budget, and decreases productivity, then yes.

Social engineering is too strong a term. There are economic incentives and disincentives in everything that we do, and you wouldn't necessarily call it social engineering.

Governments using taxation to make people pay for the costs they might soon incur on the state it perfectly fair in my book.

[Kangawallafox]

Is obesity really an epidemic here.

Sure there are obese people here but walking down the street today it hardly stands out as a problem.

[transam]

If the junk food leads to strains on the public health budget, and decreases productivity, then yes.

Social engineering is too strong a term. There are economic incentives and disincentives in everything that we do, and you wouldn't necessarily call it social engineering.

Governments using taxation to make people pay for the costs they might soon incur on the state it perfectly fair in my book.

So why not tax the garbage that is dished out ever day in LOS instead of just picking on the big boys. ?

[Thai at Heart]

They should stop subsidising the domestic prices of sugar for sure. As though refined sugar is part of a necessary staple diet.

[robblok]

If the junk food leads to strains on the public health budget, and decreases productivity, then yes.

Social engineering is too strong a term. There are economic incentives and disincentives in everything that we do, and you wouldn't necessarily call it social engineering.

Governments using taxation to make people pay for the costs they might soon incur on the state it perfectly fair in my book.

So why not tax the garbage that is dished out ever day in LOS instead of just picking on the big boys. ?

Does one have to exclude the other ?

[transam]

If the junk food leads to strains on the public health budget, and decreases productivity, then yes.

Social engineering is too strong a term. There are economic incentives and disincentives in everything that we do, and you wouldn't necessarily call it social engineering.

Governments using taxation to make people pay for the costs they might soon incur on the state it perfectly fair in my book.

So why not tax the garbage that is dished out ever day in LOS instead of just picking on the big boys. ?

Does one have to exclude the other ?

How can the wee guys be taxed, they don't pay tax in the first place....

[Mooner]

Tax on junk food? Cant comment on other countries but junk food is the cheapest option. In the UK.

[h90]

Daft topic cos Thais eat raw fat, sugar and salt in their every day diet..............

One reason I mentioned taxing white rice which is basically SUGAR. Some fat, sugar, and salt is fine of course.

Thailand already uses taxation for social engineering. Often very, very clumsily but they still do it. This seems a natural for Thailand except for one thing. The people would HATE it. They love this junk food!

I have a problem with the idea of social engineering. A general problem, because this creating the better human is something for totalitarian regimes.

Second problem is that when you look at the people who do the social engineering, Chalerm, Yingluck, Thaksin, Barnharn......

Instead of the tax on this food, a better beginning would be information, still many, if not most Thais believe that white rice is a healthy food. That Burgers are good food because they come from Farangland. That fat, extreme fat children are a good sign of wealth luck and they are cute.

Maybe put some education in Thai soap operas?

[h90]

If the junk food leads to strains on the public health budget, and decreases productivity, then yes.

Social engineering is too strong a term. There are economic incentives and disincentives in everything that we do, and you wouldn't necessarily call it social engineering.

Governments using taxation to make people pay for the costs they might soon incur on the state it perfectly fair in my book.

So why not tax the garbage that is dished out ever day in LOS instead of just picking on the big boys. ?

Does one have to exclude the other ?

Well if you tax everything Thailand will be expensive like Europe.....

[Jingthing]

Is obesity really an epidemic here. Sure there are obese people here but walking down the street today it hardly stands out as a problem.

Yes the TREND is that it is increasing rapidly. It is nowhere near Mexican levels. The idea here is to do all possible to nip it in the bud! As is know by science, once a child become obese, they are probably stuck with that condition for life. It is the humane thing to make a strong effort of PREVENTION.

The highest rate of obesity in Asia is in Thailand [15] and the lowest is in India [8] followed by Philippines [10].

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2939400/

While the problem in western countries has been building for decades, Thailand's childhood obesity problem is a more recent phenomenon. Statistics from Thailand's Ministry of Public Health reveal significant increases in the rate of obesity among children.

In the past five years, the percentage of obese pre-schoolers rose from 5.8 per cent to 7.9 per cent; in school-age children, the obesity rate went from 5.8 per cent up to 6.7 per cent over the same period. These statistics represent five-year obesity growth rates of 36 per cent (pre-school age) and 15 per cent (school age).

Among Thailand's young adults (those in the 20 to 29 age range), the obesity rate over the same five-year period increased 36 per cent among men, and for women the obesity rate grew 47 per cent.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Childhood-Obesity-A-Weighty-Problem-30198882.html

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Daft topic cos Thais eat raw fat, sugar and salt in their every day diet..............

One reason I mentioned taxing white rice which is basically SUGAR. Some fat, sugar, and salt is fine of course.

Thailand already uses taxation for social engineering. Often very, very clumsily but they still do it. This seems a natural for Thailand except for one thing. The people would HATE it. They love this junk food!

I have a problem with the idea of social engineering. A general problem, because this creating the better human is something for totalitarian regimes.

Second problem is that when you look at the people who do the social engineering, Chalerm, Yingluck, Thaksin, Barnharn......

Instead of the tax on this food, a better beginning would be information, still many, if not most Thais believe that white rice is a healthy food. That Burgers are good food because they come from Farangland. That fat, extreme fat children are a good sign of wealth luck and they are cute.

Maybe put some education in Thai soap operas?

Sorry to say studies are showing "information" and "education" are not very effective tools in combating obesity. That's more of an elitist pie in the sky concept. In real life most people are drawn to the most horribly unhealthy foods no matter how you "inform" them.

[Jingthing]

Tax on junk food? Cant comment on other countries but junk food is the cheapest option. In the UK.

Yes, the U.S. as well. The U.S. and the U.K. are VERY obese countries.

[Jingthing]

If the junk food leads to strains on the public health budget, and decreases productivity, then yes.

Social engineering is too strong a term. There are economic incentives and disincentives in everything that we do, and you wouldn't necessarily call it social engineering.

Governments using taxation to make people pay for the costs they might soon incur on the state it perfectly fair in my book.

So why not tax the garbage that is dished out ever day in LOS instead of just picking on the big boys. ?

Does one have to exclude the other ?

Well if you tax everything Thailand will be expensive like Europe.....

Ideally the tax would be only on highly processed and highly sweetened foods. That would leave all the other food alone. So eating healthy would not be impacted. I could see subsidizing the healthy food with the taxes from the crap foods but that's probably asking too much.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jingthing

[GreenSnapper]

Thailand should increase the minimum monthly pension income to 500000 Baht for those farangs who promote a Nanny state.

[Jingthing]

Thailand should increase the minimum monthly pension income to 500000 Baht for those farangs who promote a Nanny state.

So what do you propose to do to stop the tidal wave of obesity in Thailand?

[GreenSnapper]

Thailand should increase the minimum monthly pension income to 500000 Baht for those farangs who promote a Nanny state.

So what do you propose to do to stop the tidal wave of obesity in Thailand?

I propose that it is not your business. If you want to stay slim, then just do it and let other people do what they want.

Anyway, there isn't a tidal wave. If you are bored, read a book.

[Jingthing]

Thailand should increase the minimum monthly pension income to 500000 Baht for those farangs who promote a Nanny state.

So what do you propose to do to stop the tidal wave of obesity in Thailand?

I propose that it is not your business. If you want to stay slim, then just do it and let other people do what they want.

Anyway, there isn't a tidal wave. If you are bored, read a book.

How long have you been coming to Thailand or living here? I've noticed a dramatic increase in Thai-besity since the late 1990s. I agree it's something for the Thais to ultimately decide but dude this is an expat forum and we are free to discuss Thailand related issues.

Back to the issue. As Thailand does have a nationalized health care of a kind, certainly there are strong FINANCIAL incentives (forgetting the humane ones) to reduce the rate of diseases that are obesity related?

Edited December 29, 2013 by Jingthing

[GreenSnapper]

Thailand should increase the minimum monthly pension income to 500000 Baht for those farangs who promote a Nanny state.

So what do you propose to do to stop the tidal wave of obesity in Thailand?

I propose that it is not your business. If you want to stay slim, then just do it and let other people do what they want.

Anyway, there isn't a tidal wave. If you are bored, read a book.

How long have you been coming to Thailand or living here? I've noticed a dramatic increase in Thai-besity since the late 1990s. I agree it's something for the Thais to ultimately decide but dude this is an expat forum and we are free to discuss Thailand related issues.

That's what I do: i freely discuss Thailand related issues and one issue is: the last thing we need here are neostalinist functionaries who dictate to other people how to live.

[MJP]

^^ D'ya want fries with that?

[Thai at Heart]

Thailand should increase the minimum monthly pension income to 500000 Baht for those farangs who promote a Nanny state.

So what do you propose to do to stop the tidal wave of obesity in Thailand?

I propose that it is not your business. If you want to stay slim, then just do it and let other people do what they want.

Anyway, there isn't a tidal wave. If you are bored, read a book.

How long have you been coming to Thailand or living here? I've noticed a dramatic increase in Thai-besity since the late 1990s. I agree it's something for the Thais to ultimately decide but dude this is an expat forum and we are free to discuss Thailand related issues.

That's what I do: i freely discuss Thailand related issues and one issue is: the last thing we need here are neostalinist functionaries who dictate to other people how to live.

That would obviously why the non interventionist Thai government mandates a domestic sugar price lower than the global market.

[Jingthing]

That's what I do: i freely discuss Thailand related issues and one issue is: the last thing we need here are neostalinist functionaries who dictate to other people how to live.

That's really mature. Did Stalin propose junk food taxes?