Sugar is being touted as “addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times.”
The warning comes from the head of the health service in Amsterdam, where the sale of cannabis is legal.Paul van der Velpen believes that the substance should be tightly regulated and that soft drinks should carry a warning that sugar is highly addictive and dangerous."Just like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is actually a drug. There is an important role for government. The use of sugar should be discouraged. And users should be made aware of the dangers."This may seem exaggerated and far-fetched, but sugar is the most dangerous drug of the times and can still be easily acquired everywhere."He says that sugar interferes with the body's appetite which stirs an insatiable desire to carry on eating. He blames the food industry for upping the amount of sugar in prepared foods to increase consumption of their products."Sugar upsets that mechanism. Whoever uses sugar wants more and more, even when they are no longer hungry. Give someone eggs and he'll stop eating at any given time. Give him cookies and he eats on even though his stomach is painful," he argued."Sugar is actually a form of addiction. It's just as hard to get rid of the urge for sweet foods as of smoking. Thereby diets only work temporarily. Addiction therapy is better."The senior health official argues for sugar taxes and legal limits on the amount that can added to processed food."Health insurers should have to finance addiction therapy for their obese clients. Schools would no longer be allowed to sell sweets and soft drinks. Producers of sports drinks that are bursting with sugar should be sued over misleading advertising and so on," he said.
Read more: Sugar is 'addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times' - Telegraph
The warning comes from the head of the health service in Amsterdam, where the sale of cannabis is legal.Paul van der Velpen believes that the substance should be tightly regulated and that soft drinks should carry a warning that sugar is highly addictive and dangerous."Just like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is actually a drug. There is an important role for government. The use of sugar should be discouraged. And users should be made aware of the dangers."This may seem exaggerated and far-fetched, but sugar is the most dangerous drug of the times and can still be easily acquired everywhere."He says that sugar interferes with the body's appetite which stirs an insatiable desire to carry on eating. He blames the food industry for upping the amount of sugar in prepared foods to increase consumption of their products."Sugar upsets that mechanism. Whoever uses sugar wants more and more, even when they are no longer hungry. Give someone eggs and he'll stop eating at any given time. Give him cookies and he eats on even though his stomach is painful," he argued."Sugar is actually a form of addiction. It's just as hard to get rid of the urge for sweet foods as of smoking. Thereby diets only work temporarily. Addiction therapy is better."The senior health official argues for sugar taxes and legal limits on the amount that can added to processed food."Health insurers should have to finance addiction therapy for their obese clients. Schools would no longer be allowed to sell sweets and soft drinks. Producers of sports drinks that are bursting with sugar should be sued over misleading advertising and so on," he said.
Read more: Sugar is 'addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times' - Telegraph
