With the rising rates of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases, most people have proposed to look for ways to tax sugary sodas and drinks. Indeed there is a need to initiate a policy which would impose taxes on the drinks which do not bring health benefits to the citizens. The proponents of this policy have argued that the taxes imposed on these drinks would not only help in reducing their consumption but the revenue raised from these taxes would help to improve some of the most important needs of the community such as education and health (Mytton, Clarke & Rayner, 2012). Of more significance, the policy would help to call attention to the health risks of these drinks and create more awareness among the public who are not much aware of the health dangers caused by these drinks. Imposing taxes on sugary drinks would not be unique to the United States only. Many other developed countries have done the same and the effects have been positive with regards to the reduced consumption rates of these drinks.
The opponents of the taxation of sugary drinks argue that tax policy would not help in reducing the consumption of sugary drinks. Instead, they argue that other policies like education initiatives, and banning the adverts on children would be more effective than taxation (Mytton, Clarke & Rayner, 2012). They also argue that the policy would be unfair for the low-income citizens and that it would also lead to the loss of jobs.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
When forming the taxation policy, the best way to get people to understand and accept it is through getting the public health and nutrition experts on board to help in the campaign and to sensitize of the real dangers of excessive consumption of the sugary drinks. Conducting a research and presenting actual data and statistics would make the information valid. This would help in educating the common citizens who are not aware of the health risks imposed by the sugary drinks. Another way of getting people to embrace the policy is working with the producers of these drinks to help in the campaign. Since most people have trusted these brands for a long time, for a change in lifestyle, the production companies have to be involved to explain to their customers about the healthy alternatives that they would be offering and the importance of going with the healthy choices.
Using the Longest's policy cycle model, there would be three phases that would ensure the success of its formation. The first phase would be policy formulation, followed by policy implementation and then policy modification. Policy formulation would involve policy design and information which attract the legislatures. It is in this phase that the public health and nutrition experts would provide facts and share their knowledge with the legislatures and the stakeholders. The health experts would help in framing the problem to elaborate on the effects of sugary drinks on a different population. They can cite children obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes which are actually on the rise.
The next phase would be policy implementation in which the legislatures would add specificity to the law and forward it to the executive. The writing of the rules is an important aspect of the implementation process. The health experts play a role in influencing how these rules are written. After writing these rules, they are published in the Federal register for two months for them to receive public reactions. Stakeholders can also exert their influence during this phase. The public is allowed to put in their thoughts on the whole debate. Some of the members of the public are experts from different fields. Their expert opinions are helpful in shaping up the policy into a more helpful one. The final phase is the policy modification stage in which the decisions made in previous stages are examined and modified. Also, the contribution from the public responses is also looked into and added in case they are valid.
Reference
Mytton, O. T., Clarke, D., & Rayner, M. (2012). Taxing unhealthy food and drinks to improve health. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online) , 344 .
