Australian doctors renew calls for sugar tax

Canberra (Australia), January 19: Australia's peak medical body has renewed calls for a tax on sugary beverages in the country.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) on Wednesday launched a new campaign making the case for the government to follow Britain's lead and legislate a tax on the sugar in drinks with no nutritional benefit.
The "sickly sweet" social media campaign highlights the link between frequent consumption of sugary drinks and poor dental health, heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
Omar Khorshid, president of the AMA, said Australians drink more than 2.4 billion liters of sugary drinks every year.
According to AMA modeling, a tax of 40 cents per 100 grams of sugar would reduce sugar consumption in Australia by 12 percent to 18 percent.
"It's a staggering figure, and we think Aussies need to know what they are consuming and the impact it can have on their long-term health," Khorshid said in a media release. "Sugary drinks are a ticking time bomb for the nation's health, and we urge Australians to choose water whenever they can."
Health Minister Greg Hunt and the federal government have previously ruled out supporting any tax on sugar.
Source: Xinhua