In some countries, an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on this kind of food. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Health problems caused by the excessive consumption of fast foods have assumed epidemic proportions in some country. According to some people, it is important to impose a high tax on junk food to discourage people from eating such foods. This measure, however, is neither efficient nor effective in my opinion. Firstly, imposing a higher tax on fast food only has a small impact on preventing people from eating too much junk food, and it is not the only way to prevent the problem. Compared with increasing tax, making healthy food more convenient and more affordable to citizens might be a better solution for government. Making a sudden change in fast food price may cause damage to the economy of a whole country. The government, therefore, should try to avoid such risky behavior. Instead, they can encourage the consumption of healthy food. For example, the commercial cultivation of organic foods can be facilitated so that consumers can buy healthy foods with lower price. Secondly, the low price of fast food is not the primary reason for them to choose this kind of food. Most of them prefer fast food instead of healthy food just because they put convenience on a higher priority than health. Therefore, although an increment on tax will result in a higher price, many consumers may still choose fast food. Fast foods can be cooked in a matter of minutes. Ready-to-eat foods are also available in supermarkets. Many people are consuming fast foods because healthier alternatives are not conveniently available. In conclusion, to deal with the health issue caused by an excessive consumption of fast food, the government should focus on advertising the healthy lifestyle to the citizen, rather than imposing a higher tax on fast food.