Scotland’s chief medical officer, Dr Mac Armstrong, has dealt the soft drinks industry another blow in its battle against its poor health image, by calling for all sugary fizzy drinks to be banned from schools.
In his annual report released yesterday, Dr Armstrong said he wanted to see all fizzy drinks, with the exception of sparkling water, banned from schools because they “contribute to dental decay” and because they contain “hidden calories”.
Children in Scotland have the worst dental health in Europe. And recent figures revealed 65.8% of 11- to 15-year-olds drank sugary carbonated drinks every day.
Dr Armstrong said: “As part of a healthy eating policy in schools it’s very important that we give children choices. But personally I don’t see any reason why there should be any fizzy drinks as part of a healthy eating policy other than good clean healthy spring water. There’s some interesting choices there for schools.”
He went on: “Sugary fizzy drinks do contribute to dental decay, and there is also the issue of hidden calories, because children do not realise they are taking in extra calories by drinking them. And although we are consuming less calories than ever, we are much less active, which is causing problems with obesity.”
But a spokesman for the industry trade body the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) said it was against any ban. “The soft drinks industry provides a very wide range of different products suitable for all ages and tastes, including fruit juices, bottled waters, and low sugar drinks. Manufacturers and vending machine operators work in partnership with schools to provide the choice of drinks each school decides is best.”
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