Comedian Simon Evans goes to market

Comedian Simon Evans' new series about the economics of some of the goods - or bads - to which we're addicted.

If you crave your daily coffee, can't get by without a cigarette, feel that mid-afternoon slump without your sugar-fix, or can't face an evening without a glass of wine, you are definitely not alone. But have you ever thought about the economics that has made your addiction possible? Who does it profit? And would you want to make some canny investments that take advantage of our human weaknesses?
In this series, Simon Evans looks at the economics, history and health issues behind these oh-so-addictive commodities.

This week it's sugar. Some people say sugar could be the new tobacco - exposed as a health risk that's been knowingly concealed for decades. And the trouble is sugar is in almost everything now - even things that 'look' savoury. What part does economics have to play in how we have got to this point? How do we make sense of what the food industry is doing with sugar? And if we want to invest in this addiction, how do we do it?
With the help of economics guru, More Or Less host Tim Harford and the Queen of investment know-how, Merryn Somerset Webb, plus author David Gillespie, Simon walks us around the economics of this very familiar commodity and pokes fun at our relationship with it.
Presented by Simon Evans, with regular guests Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset Webb.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.

BBC iPlayer  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0639xp0