New Zealand’s dentists back campaign for fizzy drink health warnings
Dentists in New Zealand are backing a campaign to introduce health warnings for sugary drinks.
The New Zealand Dental Association has offered its support to a campaign to introduce graphic warnings for fizzy drinks. Dentists believe that the warnings could help to discourage children and adults from buying sugary drinks and improve standards of oral health.
Recently, Professor Anna Peeters from Deakin University, Australia, presented the findings of a study into the impact of graphic warnings at the European Congress on Obesity. Prof Peeters conducted a survey of almost 1,000 adults aged between 18 and 35 years old. The findings revealed a drop of 20% in purchases when drink labels were flanked by a graphic image, such as a picture of decayed teeth.
Spokesperson for the NZDA, Dr Rob Beaglehole, explained that the warnings were one of seven measures supported by the organisation in the Consensus Statement on Sugary Drinks.
Dr Beaglehole added that New Zealand is trailing behind European countries in terms of tackling rising rates of decay linked to fizzy drink consumption. Some countries are considering introducing health warnings on certain products and the UK has recently introduced a levy on sugary drinks. The NZDA has backed calls for tougher measures to be enforced to bring down sugar consumption and to improve the dental health of the nation.
