Re-imagining impact of the sugar tax

Research suggests that reducing sugars added to sugar-sweetened drinks by 40 percent during a five-year period could prevent 1.5 million cases of people becoming overweight and obese. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)

SMOKING and sweet tooth – these are two major health-related beha­viours of Malaysians that have become the target of government intervention for a healthier society.

Statistically, 10 Malaysians die daily from lung cancer with smoking as the leading risk factor, and one in two is obese, a condition attributed to high intake of sugar coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.