MAKE JUNK FOOD ILLEGAL

To the editor:

Health-care costs associated with obesity rival the costs associated with
tobacco (Obesity Big Problem in N.S., The Daily News, March 30), but the
costs of either dwarf the health-care costs associated with all illicit
drugs combined.

About 40 per cent of the population is obese and somewhat less smoke
tobacco. About 10 to 15 per cent smoke cannabis, but less than one per cent
of the population smokes cannabis daily.

Given our success in the war on tobacco and drugs, we should seek monetary
compensation from snack-food companies and mandate warning labels on
snack-food packaging. We should prohibit snack foods and criminalize anyone
found in possession of them.

Granted, snack-food prohibition would be constitutionally questionable. It
would clog our justice system, corrupt police, trample civil rights and
finance organized crime through power-diverting basement bakeries in our
neighbourhoods.

Granted, snack-food traffickers would develop more potent and easily
concealed confections of questionable toxicity and purity. But doing
anything less sends a message to the kids that obesity is socially
acceptable. Just say "no, thank you."

Matthew M. Elrod
Victoria, B.C.