SUGARY BEVERAGES KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN ORGANIZED CRIME

Is it more moral to help people kill themselves less slowly (sugary beverages) than to kill people more quickly during organized crime? Sure, one is voluntary, and the other isn't - but still, governments should have a responsibility to reduce all unnecssary deaths.

SUGARY BEVERAGES KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN ORGANIZED CRIME IN MEXICO

In July 2024, the Spanish newspaper, published an interesting article, Las bebidas azucaradas causan más muertes que el crimen organizado en México - "Sugary beverages cause more deaths [each year] than organized crime in México". The argument is simple: about 40,000 people die each year in México due to the long term consumption of sugary beverages which causes a variety of deadly health problems. 57% of these people dying are dying due to diabetes. This number of deaths are consistent with deaths due to sugary beverages around the world.

A February 2026 article from the Council of Foreign Relations, Criminal violence in México, states that deaths due to criminal violence in México peaked at 33,341 deaths in 2018. PEAKED. Even if the number of these deaths has only dropped slightly, it is still less than the number of people dying from the consumption of sugary beverages.

The same ratios exist across the Americas: more people die from consuming sugary beverages in the USA and Colombia that people are killed more quickly from organized crime.

We have a collection of articles on: the number of people killed by sugary beverages in México and Colombia.