A chara, – The proposal to place a tax on sugary drinks may be looking for a solution to obesity, particularly among children, in the wrong place ("Why we need a tax on sugary drinks", Opinion and Analysis, August 10th) .
Recently, I came across class photographs from my last years in primary and secondary school, 1975 and 1980, respectively. Apart from a teacher, there is not a single remotely overweight person in either photograph.
We ate crisps and drank soft drinks to beat the band, in an era when there were no diet versions, and bottled water was some weird thing for French people with more money than sense.
Calories expended, rather than calories consumed, seems to be the problem.
For starters, it was very rare then for a family to have two cars. There was no chauffeur service. You made your own way to and from school, sports events, scout practice and neighbouring houses. It would be normal to cycle a couple of miles to and from school, and perhaps also drop home for lunch. That all adds up.
Second, if the opportunity was there to spend hours and hours sitting indoors playing video games, we no doubt would have taken it. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
Third, parents didn’t sue if their offspring fell out of a tree and cut themselves or even, horror, broke a bone. Litigious, compensation-hungry parents have caused schools and other places to post ridiculous “no running” legal disclaimer signs.
Over-worrying more generally among parents places child “safety” above letting kids go out and about, which in reality means more hours in front of a screen.
I don’t see how a sugar tax can address any of those broader societal issues. – Is mise,
DAVE SLATER,
Kilkea,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – Contrary to your headline "Taxing sugary drinks not the solution" (August 12th), sugary drinks are solutions, in that sugar, the solute, is dissolved in a liquid, the solvent. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN ROBINSON,
Daingean,
Co Offaly.
Sir, – Kevin McPartlan of the Irish Beverage Council(August 12th) suggests that a tax on sugary beverages would not have a significant impact on demand and cites evidence from Mexico that consumption of soft drinks is now higher than before the imposition of the tax.
If the levy is so unlikely to hit the sales of the beverage industry, one could be forgiven for wondering why they have invested so much energy in fighting it. – Yours, etc,
OSAL KELLY,
Delgany,
Co Wicklow.