Conquer the Media [by: Rowena :)]

#6: Is Taxing Pop Really a Solution?

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 11:31 PM

   Over the course of the last few years - we have seen a new initiative coming from many different sources - where their goal is to get everyone healthy. We have seen it in movies, like Super Size Me - where the main character sets out to eat nothing but McDonalds for a whole month. Of course in the end there were many healthy repercussions from doing this and it probably turned many people off from eating at McDonald's ever again. From there - we see a lot of these fast food chains start to introduce healthy menu choices - like salads and apples and oranges instead of french fries. Now don't get me wrong - all of these are good steps towards becoming a healthier nation - but is it enough?

   Then we started to see this initiative coming through in the schools. Elementary schools starting instituting a regular physical activity time and in the high schools they stopped stocking pops and chips and candies in all but one place in the school. In the United States some schools don't even have vending machines. Even this year our own cafeteria has started to cook in a healthier way as they have a mandate to meet that was set out by our school board. And have you noticed the vending machine on the first floor - most of the chocolate bars and chips have been replaced with granola bars and crackers.Recently a news segment on the radio reported how the state of New York wants to impose a new tax on pop. Their reason - pop is extremely unhealthy and causes so many health issues that eventually result in high health care costs.

   Now although this tax isn't for sure, in the meantime - the New York Health Department has started a campaign against pop. They even produced a video that has many people turning away in disgust.

   Is this kind of scare campaign effective? Does it make you want to become a healthier person? Do you think that the growing obesity in our nation is an epidemic of large proportions? Tell us how you responded to the video above? If the new tax goes through in America - what's to say that it won't happen here? If it does - would you continue to pay a large sum of money for something like pop or chips?

Fear. It's a survival mechanism that allows us to be more aware of a coming threat or danger. It is a great emotion that has an enormous impact on our lives. Because of this, businesses have now started to play on our fears as an advertising tactic, and though, in a way, it is quite manipulative, it is definitely effective in getting a message across. Take a look at this advertisement, for example:

(Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/019915.html)

Now, although this advertisement didn't scare me to the point that I never want to go out in the sun ever again, it did scare me to the point that I realized I need to take care of my skin when I go out in the sun (i.e., putting on sunscreen)...and that is the whole purpose of scare campaigns in the first place. They just want you to be made more aware of some of the very dangerous issues in the world, so that you can learn how to prevent something bad happening to you...and most of the time, they actually work!

When I watched that video, I had to admit, I was grossed out. It definitely did make me want to become a healthier person. The only problem was that this video did not make me want to stick to the idea. Sure, upon watching it, I wanted to be a healthier person, and sure, upon watching it, I was dead set on banning sodas from ever touching my mouth again...but the next day, I believe I was guzzling down a can of Sprite. See, that's just it...scare campaigns are effective enough that they will get a message across, but they are not entirely effective enough on keeping that message in people's heads.

This is why further action is usually taken, and therefore, probably one of the reasons why the American government decided to propose a pop tax. Scare campaigns are just not going to cut it, especially for an issue like obesity. I definitely think that it is an enormous issue that needs to be addressed, and I'm sure many people do too. The long term effects have been scientifically proven to be dangerous and life-threatening. However, no matter how much facts and statistics you show people, most of us usually like to believe that these kinds of things will never happen to us. There are many people out there who choose to be ignorant and to plug their ears to the truth.

Most of us are like this, choosing to "hear no evil".
(Source: http://tokopa.wordpress.com/2007/11/09/dreamspeak-under-the-override)

It is because of these reasons why I am all for the pop tax, and I would very much like it imposed on Canada as well. If a tax was imposed here, then I know, for certain, that I would be spending less money to buy junk food, especially because junk food is already pretty expensive to begin with. Although pop isn't the main cause of obesity, I believe it will still make an enormous amount of difference, so it's worth it. Take a look at the plastic bag tax imposed on Toronto, for example. Though many people still use the plastic bags, there are even more people who now thinks twice before paying for and using a plastic bag. I, myself, have found that my friends and I barely use plastic bags when shopping - instead, we usually put our bought items in a backpack or purse that we've brought with us. The tax made us realize that we don't need plastic bags for every single item we buy, particularly if we only bought one or two items. Yes, maybe it didn't stop us from using plastic bags fully, but again, it still made a difference. I know I would be a healthier person if a pop tax was imposed. After all, every penny counts.

posted by Rowena @ 11:31 PM

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