French soda tax: Le Figaro columnist argues against "Nanny State measures"

As the French Parliament is currently debating whether to reshape and increase the tax on soft drinks, an opinion piece published on 9 November in the French newspaper Le Figaro warns readers about the effects of an increase of the current soda tax in place in France.

Bill Wirtz, analyst for European Students for Liberty, argues that such a move would be another Nanny State measure that would penalize the poorest French households, as confirmed by the French Health Minister Buzyn in interviews early October before the proposal was introduced by an MP in the National Assembly.

Wirtz underlines that such taxes may have unintended consequences, such as substitution towards cheaper products containing the same amount of sugar. He also refers to the tax introduced in Denmark which was abolished 15 months later by the government that introduced it for lack of concrete public health results.

The opinion piece can be found in Le Figaro here.