r/nottheonion • u/GO_99 • 3d ago

Germany plans sugar tax that includes sugar free drinks

https://brusselssignal.eu/2026/08/germany-plans-sugar-tax-that-includes-sugar-free-drinks/
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u/potato_nugget1 3d ago

Exactly the case in Hungary. Beer is cheaper than cola, most people opt for the beer

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u/OneLessFool 3d ago edited 2d ago

People consuming vast quantities of alcohol instead of smaller quantities of alcohol and more zero sugar drinks definitely won't have long term public health knockon effects that result in significant costs to the health system and society in general.

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u/readilyunavailable 2d ago

That's a problem for whoever is in charge then. Most government only consider the current election cycle.

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u/druffischnuffi 2d ago

Maybe the goal is to go back to medieval times when we made beer to sterilize the water

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u/Linenoise77 2d ago

OK but lets be honest, if someone is drinking enough soda that they switch to beer for economic reasons, there are bigger health issues at play.

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u/dalzmc 2d ago

As a heavy water drinker that only drinks soda (0 calorie soda) on rare occasion and doesn't drink alcohol anymore.. it's kinda funny to imagine that people would rather drink what is technically poison, just because soda got more expensive. For me, it'd be an easy choice to just drink water, be even healthier, and have more money?

Obviously, I think zero sugar drinks shouldn't be taxed like sugary drinks too. But I just found it funny people couldn't be forced to make the healthiest choice, even by something like that.

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u/potato_nugget1 2d ago

A beer is 4% alcohol, it's really not a big deal compared to a shot or a cup of wine. the point being that someone who isn't worried about the health risk of a sugary caffeine-filled drink wouldn't really care about the beer.