Minister hails US school soft drink ban

Beverage companies in the heartland of the fizzy drink, the United States, have agreed to stop selling the sugary drinks in schools, prompting a hurry up message to the New Zealand industry from Minister of Health Pete Hodgson.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes have agreed on a voluntary ban of fizzy drinks in US schools in an agreement widely seen as an image-saving exercise after criticism over their role in childhood obesity.

Coca-Cola Amatil in New Zealand has no immediate plans to follow suit by withdrawing sugary soft drinks from secondary schools but has said it would review the US guidelines.

It stopped selling fizzy drinks in primary schools two years ago.

Mr Hodgson yesterday sent a veiled hint to the soft-drink industry in New Zealand to follow the American example voluntarily if it wanted to avoid Government regulation.

"The goal in the US is to have fizzy drinks out of 75 per cent of schools by 2008-09 and all schools by 2009-10. New Zealand should be aiming to get there faster than the Americans."

The Government is working with the food and beverage industry toward voluntary measures, but Mr Hodgson has listed obesity prevention as one of his top priorities, and this year's Budget is expected to include a childhood obesity package.

In the deal brokered by former US President Bill Clinton with the American Beverage Association, primary school children will have access only to low-fat milk and unsweetened flavoured water. Secondary school children will also be able to buy diet versions of popular soft drinks.

It will cover almost 90 per cent of American schools and about 35 million children.

Diabetes specialist and Fight the Obesity Epidemic spokeswoman Dr Robyn Toomath said New Zealand will have egg on its face if the United States gets soft drinks out of schools before New Zealand.

Dr Toomath said the Minister of Education should ban school sales of soft drinks and high-sugar fruit juices, as well as sponsorship of schools and school events by the soft-drink brands.

She was dismayed that the US and Australia - where the state of Victoria has decided to ban vending machines in schools - were quicker to act than New Zealand.

"It is surely only a matter of time before we have no soft drinks in schools here. The only thing that is galling is that Australia, and even the United States, are beating us to it. It is galling we are dragging the chain."

Coca Cola Amatil NZ spokeswoman Alison Sykora said there were no plans to follow suit but the company was "reviewing" the guidelines from the United States.

She said the company had agreed not to sell soft drinks in primary schools at the start of 2004 because "parents did not feel children were able to make good choices for themselves, so in respect for that concern we agreed special levels of responsibility were needed for smaller children."

She said soft drinks were sold alongside other juices and water in about 285 secondary schools, but sales figures showed the average student bought only one sugary drink a week at school.

"One of the conceptions people have is that kids are buying litres and litres of fizzy drink from the tuck shop. But we know that is not happening, from a sales point of view."

Mr Hodgson was working to hurry along options for dealing with obesity as part of a new ministerial grouping, including Education Minister Steve Maharey, Sport Minister Trevor Mallard and Youth Affairs minister Nanaia Mahuta. However, the Government was hoping to persuade the soft-drink industry to take voluntary measures, rather than be forced to regulate.

In New Zealand, it is up to individual schools whether to sell soft drinks.

Some schools, such as St Thomas school of Canterbury College, have banned soft drinks.

Two years ago, the Waitemata District Health Board also started up a project to get soft drinks out of schools, together with Auckland Regional Public Health and the National Heart Foundation.

Dr Dale Bramley, the manager of the DHB's Health Gain group, said about 16 of the 28 high schools in the area had signed up and 80 per cent of those had so far removed all sugary soft drinks.

"For one large school, we estimate we have taken over 400kg of sugar out of the canteen each month."

New Zealand ranks at number seven in the OECD league of obese nations, which says 21 per cent are obese. The US tops the list, with 31 per cent of the population obese.

- Additional reporting INDEPENDENT