Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Katie Shevlin: Tax is a sweet policy

By Katie Shevlin
Bay of Plenty Times·
21 Mar, 2016 05:30 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Childhood obesity won't be solved by this "sugar tax", but it's a step in the right direction.

Childhood obesity won't be solved by this "sugar tax", but it's a step in the right direction.

Despite having the 'sugar-is-poison' mentality drilled into me by my very health-conscious mother - who I now thank for my lack of fillings but at the time I felt the lack of chocolate cereals in our house was very unfair - I confess I still have a snack drawer in the office filled with all manner of treats.

However, I know they are a treat and (most of the time) I can exercise enough willpower to dip into the selection just once or twice a week. I imagine children, when given a bit of pocket money and the freedom to roam to the local dairy, will not exercise such self-restraint.

This is why I am hugely supportive of Britain's decision, announced last week, to implement a sugar-levy on soft drinks. The British Government plans to spend the 530 million (over $1.1 billion) per year raised by the soft drink tax on primary school sports in England.

Since this announcement, there have been many calls for the New Zealand Government to consider a similar sugar levy.

On Saturday, the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend asked children at Greenpark School what they thought of the idea, and many saw it as a good thing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 2014/15 New Zealand Health Survey found that one in nine children aged 2-14 is obese, and a further 22 per cent of children are overweight. The New Zealand Government should be doing everything it can to lower this statistic.

Of course, childhood obesity won't be solved by this "sugar tax", but it's a step in the right direction. We should be making every effort to curb children's intake of the sweet stuff. Not only does sugar have no nutritional benefits, it can have negative effects on your teeth, liver, skin, hormones, insulin levels and is highly addictive. Why would we let children put this stuff into their bodies?

Although there is no evidence to support that higher tax on sugary drinks will lead to a decrease in obesity or diabetes, how could it possibly be a bad thing?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On a psychological level, making sugary drinks more expensive also reinforces the idea in children's minds that these drinks should be a treat and not a part of daily life.

In recent years, some British supermarkets have also banned chocolate bars and sweets from the checkout area to prevent impulse buys and remove confectionary from children's line of sight. Supermarkets here should follow suit.

Small moves like this will make a world of difference in changing children's habits and help to set them up for a healthier lifestyle.

Discover more

Editorial: Missed chance to change the flag

07 Mar 02:00 AM

Clayton Mitchell: Polytech students vote on flag

16 Mar 09:17 PM

Annemarie Quill: Customer service clinches it

19 Mar 01:00 AM

Diabetes: The threat to Kiwis' health

06 Apr 11:00 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 06:06 PM
live
Bay of Plenty Times

Authorities brace for fresh floods, destructive gales, as rain blankets NZ

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Bike racks back for Rotorua buses, Tauranga's a month away

02 Jul 11:55 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 06:06 PM

'There’s a lot of traffic going through there and it’s a really sharp, ugly bend.'

Authorities brace for fresh floods, destructive gales, as rain blankets NZ
live

Authorities brace for fresh floods, destructive gales, as rain blankets NZ

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Bike racks back for Rotorua buses, Tauranga's a month away

Bike racks back for Rotorua buses, Tauranga's a month away

02 Jul 11:55 AM
NZ e-bike brand shines at Eurobike global showcase

NZ e-bike brand shines at Eurobike global showcase

02 Jul 03:13 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP