Some People Think That Governments Should Increase The Tax On Unhealthy Food To Enhance Public Health | Band 7 IELTS Essay Sample
Some people think that governments should increase the tax on unhealthy food to enhance public health. Do you agree or disagree?
Here is a band 7 IELTS essay on this topic written by one of our students. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.
Band 7 IELTS essay sample
In contemporary settings, more and more people are suffering from some diseases caused by their excessive intake of junk food, and for the sake of rectifying this alarming situation, some people believe that authorities should impose more tax on the retailers or the producers of such food. While using this method can curb the consumption of this food to some extent, it will generate some serious problems, and I believe that governments should consider other means.
It is true that increasing the tax on those refuse food can contribute to the improvement of individuals’ health to some degrees. To be more specific, putting this policy into practice means a surge in the cost of that food, which the vast majority of people are sensitive to. Consequently, the reduction in the consumption of such foods high in sugar and fat can reduce their possibilities of being afflicted with illnesses like obesity and high blood pressure.
However, this may take a toll on the lives of employees in this industry and the whole society. This is mainly because paying more tax will reduce the profit margins of these companies, and thus the producers are more likely to reduce the salary costs by dismissing some workers or lowering their wages, for the sake of maintaining their previous profits. Hence, these unemployed staff will face difficulties in earning a living, and some of them may even resort to illegal ways to earn money, threatening social security.
Conversely, it is reasonable for administrative bodies to take other methods into consideration. To begin with, governments can introduce related laws, requiring producers of this food to reduce the amount of those unhealthy elements such as sugar and fat into a healthy level, based on the opinions of doctors. In addition, the government can produce public interest campaigns about the harmful effects of the consumption of these foods and air them on television channels during prime time.
In conclusion, levying more tax on garbage food cannot improve citizens’ health, but it can affect the economy, so authorities should consider other feasible ways to solve the problem.
