Hyderabad: Doctors have sought a food tax on sugary drinks, tobacco and junk food as they are the rising cause of diseases like obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Doctors are demanding 40 per cent tax on tobacco, 20 per cent tax on sugary drinks and junk food, to be included in the GST Bill. With people taking sugar based foods and junk food as convenience foods they are making themselves susceptible to early onset of diseases.
Dr Raghu Prasad, senior gastroenterologist said, “Youngsters are looking at appealing, easy to eat and relatively cheap foods. They are gulping down carbonated drinks with burgers which are wrong food combinations and continue so for a long period of time leading to abdominal obesity and diabetes at an early age.”
Obesity is as high as 30 per cent in urban areas in India. It is also one of the leading causes for type 2 diabetes and cancer. Dr K Srinivas, a dentist, said, “Sugar-based drinks and excess of sugar consumption through packed fruit juices is leading to tooth problems. Cases of tooth decay are very high in teenagers and middle-aged adults.”
With retail offers and attractive discounts on bulk purchase at supermarkets, consumers are developing a habit which they are not aware of, said nutritionist Padma Kiran. She said, “Children are so addicted to sugary and carbonated drinks that they want it with food or after food everyday which is a wrong trend.”
The All India Food Processors Association has stated that the food market in India is growing and imposing huge taxes will create a bad impact. A senior member of the association explained, “We agree that awareness has to be created among the people but imposing taxes will lead to a negative impact on the industry. There are health foods, nutrient rich foods and also health drinks which are available for people. They have to be cautious that they do not take it in excess."
But with one lakh new cases of cancer being seen every year, doctors feel that awareness alone won’t work and a high tax-regime will help curtail the problem.
