印度地方政府对快餐收脂肪税

AS IT IS 2016-07-22 Indian State Imposes ‘Fat Tax’ on Fast Food 印度地方政府对快餐收脂肪税

Officials in India’s southern state of Kerala have placed a tax on hamburgers, pizza and other fast food.

The 14.5 percent tax will be added to foods at restaurants such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King.

The tax is being called a “fat tax” because it adds cost to foods considered high in fat and calories. It is the first fast food tax enacted¹ in India, where obesity² levels are rising in the growing middle class.

Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac proposed the tax after learning of similar measures in other countries. He hopes it will get people to choose to eat healthy food, which he said is “going out of fashion.”

Dr. Anoop Misra heads the Center for Diabetes³, Obesity and Cholesterol⁴ at New Delhi’s Fortis Hospital. He strongly supports the “fat tax” as a way to reduce the number of diabetes cases in young people.

“We used to see diabetes 20 years back, diabetes at 50 or 40 years of age. Now we are seeing diabetes at 15 years of age, 18 years of age.” Misra said he hopes other Indian states will also use fast food taxes.

A government finance official in central Gujarat state told the Times of India the state is considering a similar 14.5 percent tax. “This idea can also be adopted in the state, as we also have high consumption of junk and unhealthy food. The ‘fat tax’ can be used as a tool to raise awareness⁵ of the harmful effects of junk food,” the official said.

India’s fast food market has grown steadily⁶ in the past 15 years. McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC already are well established. Other chain restaurants gaining popularity more recently are Johnny Rockets, Burger King, Wendy’s and Barcelos.

Critics of the tax say it probably will not stop people from buying fast food. Some also believe the government is only using it to raise revenue. Officials in Kerala reject that idea. They say overall collections from the tax will be small.

The “fat tax” will not cover local street vendor⁷ food that also can be high in fat and calories. The owner of a small restaurant in Kochi told VOA this is not fair.

“The one food that is eaten widely in Kerala is the ‘paratha,’ which is basically high in fat, high in refined flour, high in trans fats, and it is cheap. It can't be taxed because it is highly unorganized.”

Some doctors and health experts say the tax should also include other snack foods and sugary drinks sold across the country.

Sheela Krishnaswamy is a nutritionist who heads the Indian Dietetic Association in Bangalore. “Is it enough? I don’t think so. I think we need to go much beyond the burgers and doughnuts and the french fries.”

One fast food customer in New Dehli, Vijay Deoli, told VOA the government should deal with more important issues. “First you have to clear up the air, the water, many things are there. This is a small thing.”

Others say the government should do more to bring attention to fast food and obesity rather than changing people’s choices.

Many health experts agree that bringing attention to the issue is important. But Dr. Misra said education alone does not work.

He compared the tax to a law passed several years ago that got people to wear seat belts to avoid paying a fine. “A certain amount of regulation has to be brought in to change the habits of the people.”

Words in This Story

obesity – n. having too much fat in the body, overweight

diabetes – n. a disease that prevents the body from properly controlling the amount of sugar in the blood

chain restaurants – n. eating establishments belonging to a certain brand of restraurant

critic – n. person who expresses disagreement about something

revenue – n. money earned by or paid to a business or government

vendor – n. person who sells goods, especially on the street

seat belt – n. a strap on a vehicle’s seat that holds a person in place if there is an crash

1 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

3 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

4 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

7 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。