Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Sturt Rd, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia.
School of Law, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
Health Promot Int. 2021 Oct 13;36(5):1334-1345. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daaa152.
Although rising rates of obesity are recognized as a major concern for Australian public health, debate on what (if any) responsive action should be undertaken is conceptually and normatively complex. It is shaped by diverse values and interests; different representations of the problem; and many options for action by government, the private sector or individuals. This paper presents research documenting arguments for and against implementing a sugar tax in Australia. It is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from industry (n = 4), public health (n = 4), policy think tanks (n = 2); and document and media analyses. The research design was informed by framing and agenda setting theory with results reported under four main themes: framing economic impacts, framing equity, framing obesity and framing the 'nanny state' versus individual liberty argument. We found that proposals for a sugar tax as part of policy responses to the issue of overweight and obesity in Australia are framed very differently by actors who either support or oppose it. A conclusion is that policy makers and public health advocates involved in policy debates on a sugar tax need to understand the role of problem and 'solution' framing, and develop positions based on protecting the public interest as a basic ethical responsibility of governments and public agencies.
尽管肥胖率的上升被认为是澳大利亚公共卫生的一个主要关注点，但对于应该采取何种（如果有的话）应对措施的争论，在概念和规范上都非常复杂。它受到不同价值观和利益的影响；问题的不同表现形式；以及政府、私营部门或个人采取行动的许多选择。本文介绍了记录澳大利亚实施糖税的论据的研究。这项研究基于对来自行业（n=4）、公共卫生（n=4）、政策智库（n=2）的代表的半结构化访谈；以及文件和媒体分析。研究设计受到框架和议程设置理论的启发，结果根据以下四个主要主题报告：框定经济影响、公平框架、肥胖框架和“保姆国家”与个人自由论点框架。我们发现，支持或反对澳大利亚超重和肥胖问题政策应对措施的各方对糖税提案的看法非常不同。结论是，参与糖税政策辩论的政策制定者和公共卫生倡导者需要了解问题和“解决方案”框架的作用，并根据保护公共利益作为政府和公共机构的基本伦理责任来制定立场。
