Fizzy drinks will soon be off shelves in Wanganui Hospital with the Whanganui District Health Board agreeing to ban the sale of some sugar-sweetened beverages in hospital cafes and shops.
Board member Ray Stevens called for the removal of fizzy drinks to be put on the agenda after hearing about Nelson Marlborough health board making the change.
Project manager Anne Kauika said all healthy products would be on the top levels of the hospital fridges and vending machines and water would be promoted as the healthy choice.
"The milk and juice drinks may stay but if they do the bottle sizes will be reduced to align with ministry healthy eating guidelines," she said.
"If they do stay it is because at a reduced portion size they do contribute to the daily calcium and fruit intake for an individual."
The ban on sugary drinks in Wanganui reflects a national movement to tax and regulate these drinks which is putting pressure on the Government to take decisive action.
Sweet drinks are low in nutrients with less satisfying energy than solid foods, resulting in increased consumption, according to a February article by health innovation experts in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
The article found younger children aged 5 to 14 got nearly a quarter of their daily sugar intake from such beverages and notes that high sugar intake is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and dental problems among children. The New Zealand Beverage Guidance Panel, made up of public health experts, has long advocated taxing and restricting the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), but now is taking the battle directly to Parliament.
The panel has just released a five-page policy brief with 20 recommendations to government, schools, communities, the beverage industry, health professionals, and non-government organisations.
Panel founder Dr Gerhard Sundborn says its top three recommendations would be a 20 per cent excise tax to reduce consumption among poorer households, regulating sales within schools and hospitals, and educating families and communities about problems associated with high sugar intake.
The brief is finding favour with the Greens and the Maori Party, with Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia saying the Maori Party has approached the Government about introducing an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
However, Health Minister Tony Ryall says a tax won't work and the Government has no intention of enforcing one.
Mr Ryall said the government role was to provide information and support for individuals and families regarding healthy eating, and he had no intention of introducing more restrictive measures such as sugar taxes, or stricter regulation of advertising. In 2008, the Labour government introduced healthy food and beverage guidelines for schools, removing the sale of fizzy drinks and fatty foods. However, in 2009 the National government revoked the guidelines, meaning school canteens once more had a choice of what to sell. Critics claim this was a backwards step towards reducing childhood obesity.
Primary school principals say that while sugar-sweetened beverages are a problem, schools are doing everything in their power to encourage healthy diets.
Principals' Federation president Phil Harding said most schools continued to provide healthy food and drink options after the guidelines were removed. Beverage industry bodies are not convinced a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would reduce consumption.
Coca-Cola New Zealand's general manager Paul Fitzgerald told the New Zealand Herald in April that a 20 per cent tax would fall more heavily on the smaller drinks range, making larger-size bottles more attractive to supermarket shoppers. "So all we've done is push consumers back to the bigger guy [supermarkets], who'll continue to sell and promote," he said. A tax would be regressive and fall more heavily on low-income consumers, leading to shifts to cheaper house brands or powdered mixes, with the potential to hurt the business of dairies, who already struggle to compete with supermarkets, he said.
Though the panel's recommendation for a 20 per cent excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages has hit a stumbling block with government, Dr Sundborn is convinced it's the way forward. Mexico has introduced a 10 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages which has so far resulted in an 8 per cent drop in consumption, he says. Money collected from a tax here could be used to fund health promotion initiatives. The panel's brief will now be presented to various organisations to consider supporting in principle or fully endorsing it.