# FILE NAME: 00002290.soc
# TITLE: Do we need a tax on sugary drinks? [2c72dc0c06dc7ef86c7059d8c02a5b97]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 4
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 4
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - In general, the group was in favour of a tax on sugary drinks. They felt that this would discourage people from buying sugary drinks, and lead to them making better choices. They felt that this would be a positive thing, as it would reduce the amount of sugar consumed, and reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity, both of which are major public health issues. However, they felt that a tax on sugary drinks would be regressive, as it would impact poorer people more than richer people, as poorer people spend a larger proportion of their income on food and drink, and so would be more likely to be affected by the tax. The group also felt that it was important that people were well informed about the health risks of sugary drinks, and that the government should be working to inform people about this, rather than just taxing sugary drinks.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - We believe that the government should tax sugary drinks. We believe that people should be free to make their own choices, but that the government has a duty to protect its citizens from making choices that will harm them. We also believe that a tax on sugary drinks will help to reduce the number of people who suffer from obesity and diabetes, which will reduce the strain on the NHS. We also believe that the tax will help to reduce the number of people who suffer from poor dental health. We believe that the tax will be effective in reducing consumption of sugary drinks, as it will make them more expensive, and that this will lead to a healthier population. However, we also acknowledge that taxing sugary drinks takes away individual freedom of choice, and could lead to people buying sugary drinks from other countries, which would mean that the tax would not be as effective as intended. We believe that the tax should be implemented, but that it should be accompanied by a large campaign informing people of the dangers of sugary drinks, to make sure that people are making informed choices.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - We believe that there is a strong case for taxing sugary drinks. The health problems caused by sugar are serious and widespread and so we believe that any measure that can help to reduce sugar consumption is a good thing. There are other ways of reducing sugar consumption such as education and awareness-raising, but we believe that taxing sugary drinks is a good way of doing this. We don't think that this is an infringement of individual freedom because people are still free to drink sugary drinks, they are just being discouraged from doing so by the tax. We think that the tax will be effective because the evidence shows that it has reduced the consumption of sugary drinks in other countries where it has been introduced. We also believe that the tax will be a good way of raising revenue for public health and education.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - We believe that the government should tax sugary drinks. We believe that people should be free to make their own choices, but that the government has a duty to protect its citizens from making choices that will harm them. We also believe that a tax on sugary drinks will help to reduce the number of people who suffer from obesity and diabetes, which will reduce the strain on the NHS. We also believe that the tax will help to reduce the number of people who suffer from poor dental health. We believe that the tax will be effective in reducing consumption of sugary drinks, as it will make them more expensive, and that this will lead to a healthier population. We also believe that the government has the responsibility to care for its citizens' health, however there should be considerations for balancing individual freedom with this, and using evidence based evaluation of the tax's impact on reducing health issues and how major this is, and finally addressing external factors such as educating the population an promoting a fit lifestyle.
2: 1,3,2,4
1: 4,3,1,2
1: 3,4,2,1
1: 4,1,3,2