l a a r i s s s s a a ' s media arts blog.: re: is taxing pop really a solution?
Larissa
Check out this video by the NYC Health Department.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4t8zL6F0c
"Man Drinking Fat. NYC Health Anti-Soda Ad. Are You Pouring on the Pounds?"
This video is truly shocking and is an example of an advertising technique used, shock value. That is where the advertisement is used to scare the audience into remembering the message. This scare tactic is surprisingly very effective as it plays on the fear of the viewer. As I watched this video there was something in my stomach that was moving around. This video was just sickening. To see a person literally drinking fat is very nauseous. I think that this method, even though it may seem offensive it is also one of the most effective ways of advertising. I think the message that the NYC Health Department is trying to send across is that pop is unhealthy. It may seem like a simple message for an advertisement that seems so shocking. Seeing what soda is really like does scaring you into re-thinking how you maintain your health. I think personally this does make me more health conscious. This advertisement is revolting and I think the next time I go to drink pop I will be remember this ad. It makes me nauseous even thinking about it.
But unlike myself there are many teenagers out there that believe that junk food like pop is OK. I think junk food is one of the many reasons that there is growing obesity in our nation. Many teenagers feast upon junk food daily. According to Wikipedia, obesity is defined as a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality. Translation: obesity is not good, but the bad news is that it isn't getting better, but rather, worse. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. Equally shocking was that in 2005 (globally), at least 20 million children under the age of five years old were overweight.
These are shocking statistics which at least scared me when I did some research on this topic. I think that this issue is not minor issue that should be pushed aside, this may turn in to an epidemic in its own form. I think that this tax that America plans on putting on pop in an attempt to reduce consumption of pop may or may not have an effect on us. If this tax does actually work and results are notice then I would say that it is most likely that Canada will adopt this idea and follow America like it has done in the past with various other issues. If somehow it does end up in Canada, it won't have that much of an effect me because I do not consume pop on a daily basis. For me I drink pop only at party and special occasions. I wouldn't mind paying the extra tax once in a while. But if I was like other citizens of Canada that consume pop religiously, I would probably protest against this tax. In the end it comes down to personal choice and one's self control.
