The Taiwan Health Alliance yesterday urged the government to impose a sugar tax on drinks, after a survey it commissioned showed the vast majority of respondents would change their consumption habits, provided they are given proper warnings and incentives.
The food safety policies and reduced sugar intake poll conducted by the alliance via SurveyCake showed that 92.3 percent of respondents considered drinks with high sugar content to be unhealthy.
Despite this, more than 40 percent continue to consume sugary drinks more than three times per week, alliance director Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said, suggesting that the government institute policies to increase prices for sugary drinks and lower prices for drinks without sugar.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Health Promotion Administration Deputy Director-General Chia Shu-li (賈淑麗) said that WHO recommends that the average sugar intake for adults be lower than 10 percent of total caloric intake, at 1,800 to 2,000 calories daily, or about 50g of sugar.
The amount is about equivalent to 1.5 bottles of Coca-Cola or two glasses of orange juice, she said.
However, the average sugar intake among Taiwanese is 17.3 percent of their total caloric intake, which, on top of candy and hand-shaken drinks such as bubble tea, means that the average sugar intake of Taiwanese far exceeds the WHO recommendation, she said.
About 50.8 percent of the population is overweight and the government should base policy decisions on poll results, Chia said.
About 73.8 percent of respondents to the survey supported levying sugar taxes, Wu said.
National Taiwan University Hospital Department of Dietetics director Chen Pei-hung (陳珮蓉) said that excessive sugar intake was closely linked to obesity, metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular disease and possibly cancer.
Half of the world’s population lives in areas that levy sugar taxes, and Taiwan should take note of this, Chen said.
The report also showed that 43.4 percent of respondents were unhappy with the government’s handling of food safety over the past year, with 34.5 percent stating that food safety should focus on the source, while 23.3 percent said that more inspections should be conducted.
The alliance urged the government to improve its implementation of food safety policies, step up inspection of food sources, step up labeling for high-sugar, high-sodium and high-calorie products, implement incentives for people to choose low-to-zero-sugar drinks, and to mull sugar taxes, Wu said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS