WASHINGTON — The Sugar Association, Inc. said an article published in the Feb. 2 issue of Nature is flawed. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, claim sugar consumed at the levels by most Americans changes metabolism, raises blood pressure, critically alters the signaling of hormones and damages the liver. They said government interventions, such as special sales taxes and tightening licensing requirements, may reduce sugar consumption just as they reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption. The Sugar Association responded, “We consider it irresponsible when health professionals use their platforms to instill fear by using words like diabetes, cancer and even death without so much as one disclaimer about the fact that the incomplete science being referenced is inconclusive at best.”