Used in sodas and salad dressings and even Clamato juice, sugar is a staple of the modern US diet. Despite its being linked to obesity, it is consumed in large quantities—about 20 teaspoons a day, or 76 lbs annually, for the average American.
When we’re ingesting this much sugar year-round, it can’t make sense to think of Halloween candy as a “treat,” the British comedian John Oliver argued in the latest episode of his HBO show, Last Week Tonight. Watch him make the case that ghosts and goblins aren’t the only thing out to get you this Halloween.
If you’re trying not to get tricked by sugar this Halloween (or just generally), keep in mind there are powerful forces that might trip you up—namely the political influence of Big Sugar and the addictive qualities of sugar that make humans crave it like cocaine.