The first reason why a higher tax should be imposed on fast food is that obesity-related illnesses cost people billions of dollars every year. People who eat too much fast food are more likely to suffer from diseases such as heart diseases and diabetes. As a result, they have to go to hospital more regularly for treatment, which can put a financial strain on them. For example, it has been reported by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service that an alarming amount of more than $2 billion has been spent on the treatment of diabetes in 2018.

Another reason why fast food restaurants should pay extra tax is to raise the cost and decrease demand. Any extra tax would be added to the normal price of the food and as prices go up, fewer people will be able to afford to buy fatty food. Therefore, this would reduce the amount of junk food people are eating and the result would be a healthier community. For example, when the duty on cigarettes is raised each year in the UK, more people quit smoking and this has a knock on effect on the number of people dying from lung cancer and other smoking related diseases. I do believe that the same thing would happen to the case of fast food. 

In conclusion, there has been a surge in the number of people suffering from health problems caused by consuming too much fast food. From my perspective, I completely concur with the idea of imposing higher taxes on this type of food because people will not have to spend a great deal of money on treating diseases caused by junk food overconsumption and this will also decrease the demand for fast food in general.