The economic aspect In terms of the economy, there has been an inconclusive debate about whether artificial sweeteners could be used in food and beverages as a sweetener material. The use of these sweeteners has some positive effects on the economy by increasing the production and creating new jobs. Additionally, they could reduce the obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay, which could decrease the health care cost. On the other hand, the consumption of artificial sweeteners may lead to negative implications for the economy, for instance, it may lead to some diseases, such as cancer.
These diseases may increase the health care cost which has a negative effect on the economy. This section is going to investigate how artificial sweeteners tend to be economic-friendly if it were used in moderate concentration. There is significant growth in the production of food and beverage that contain artificial sweeteners as a sweetener substance that could improve the economy. For instance, in 2007 the overall sales in the USA are approximately 0. 5 billion USD and the estimated sales in 2014 are expected to exceed one billion USD (Wiebe et al. 011). According to these facts, artificial sweeteners could have a beneficial effect on the economy because it leads to increasing the manufacturers that produce these products which creating several employment opportunities. Artificial sweeteners consuming can decline the dental care cost which could develop the economy because it has an important role in preventing the tooth decay. For example, in England the dental care cost the NHS around 3. 7 billion pounds annually (Medas 2012).
A study by Neacsu and Madar (2014:63) state that artificial sweeteners are “tooth-friendly” the study also points out that artificial sweetener sticking to the surface of the tooth. Therefore, it can inhibit the formation of plaque (the bacterial layer which accumulates on the teeth) that led to tooth decomposition. The main strong point of this study is that it astutely compares the difference between the effect of consumption natural sugar and artificial sweeteners on the tooth.
Additionally, the study has obviously demonstrated the mechanism of tooth protection from decay by consuming artificial sweeteners. It is also explained that the natural sugars stick to the tooth enamel, then the bacteria feed the consumed sugar converting it into acidic substance. As a result, the acidic material could tear the tooth structure and lead to cavities. Conversely, bacteria have no ability to ferment artificial sweeteners into acid, because sugars have a different chemical structure from artificial sweetener.
Therefore, the tooth would not affected by these sweeteners. It is therefore seems that the use of artificial sweeteners has a positive impact on the economy by decreasing the dental care cost through protecting the tooth from decomposition. Moreover, the consumption of artificial sweeteners could reduce the weight and avoid fatness (Mattes et al. 2009; Anton 2010; Ashwell, 2015 and Khan 2015). Recently, obesity has been increasing and becoming an immense problem on the economy in the world, because it requires a high cost for treatment.
For instance, in the UK, obesity costs the NHS 5. 1 billion pounds during 2006-07 including; surgery, overweight medications and new equipment to accommodate people who suffer from fatness. Additionally, fatness cost the social care an extra 352 million pounds extra hours of assistance (Scarborough et al. 2011). Therefore, it can be affirmed that the use of artificial sweeteners in foods and beverages have a positive impact on the economy by reducing obesity. Furthermore, diabetes care cost could be decreased by consuming artificial sweeteners.
In 2012 diabetes cost NHS in the UK approximately 14 billion pounds for treating it and its complications (Kanavos et al. 2012). A report by Health and Social Care Information Centre (2014) reported that more than 45 million medications prescribed to treat diabetes in the England during 2013-14, the estimated cost of these medications was around 800 million pounds. However, a study by Khan (2015) empathizes that the consumption of artificial sweeteners can assist patients who suffer from diabetes to control the glucose level in their blood.
Therefore, the consumption of these sweeteners has a positive effect on the economy by reducing the health care for diabetic patients. On the other hand, the use of artificial sweeteners may lead to negative impact on the economy in terms of increasing the cost of health care. Several studies allege that the consumption of these substances may cause some diseases. For example, brain cancer (Olney et al. 1996), breast cancer (Schwartz 1999) and lymphomas (cancer of the lymph nodes) (Soffritti et al. 2005). Undoubtedly, cancer care requires the high cost of hospitalization, medications and research.
For instance, in 2011 the cost care for cancer in the USA was 124 billion USD (Sullivan et al. 2011). In contrast, some studies and FDA have shown that artificial sweeteners cannot be directly linked to cancer (Ross 1998 and FDA 2006). In addition, the studies justified that there are many factors that could cause cancer, for example, the usage of mobile phone, drinking alcohol and computers (Weihrauch et al. 2004) as explained in section 1. It seems that there is no strong evidence in the above studies (Olney et al. 1996; Schwartz 1999 and Soffritti et al. 005) because they lack some important information.
On the other hand, some studies convincingly prove that there is no link between cancers and the use of the artificial sweeteners. In addition, studies assert that these sweeteners could reduce the health care cost by reducing the obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. It is therefore likely that such connections exist between the consumption of artificial sweeteners and the economy. Based on the previous facts, it seems that the consumption of artificial sweeteners in moderate amount could have a positive effect economically.