A county councillor representing the Felinfoel ward is calling for the council to support a resolution to support ‘Fizz Free February’ and encourage pupils to drop fizzy drinks for a month.
County Councillor Bill Thomas has tabled a question for the next full council meeting.
In a letter to the Executive Board Member for Education and Children, Cllr Thomas Wrote:
“If someone drinks a can of Coke every day for a month, they are eating the equivalent of a bag of sugar. Fizzy drinks are also the largest source of sugar for children aged eleven to eighteen. So if you want to get serious about childhood obesity, it starts with fizzy pop.
“As part of the Healthy Schools Initiative, the school in my ward of Felinfoel – Ysgol y Felin – ask any pupils bringing fizzy drinks into school to hand them over and then collect them at the end of the school day.
“Will the Executive Board member support the Fizz Free February campaign and encourage all schools in Carmarthenshire to try this approach for one month? This will also be an opportunity to promote the benefits of drinking water instead of fizzy pop.”
The full meeting takes place on January 9th and will be available to view on the council’s website via a webcast.
Sugarsmartuk claims that fizzy drinks are the largest single source of sugar for children aged 11-18, and they provide an average of 29% of daily sugar intake. They say that “Cutting out fizzy drinks is an easy way to reduce your sugar intake. By committing to going fizz free for the entire month of February it will make easier to cut down on fizzy drinks for the rest of the year.”
Source: https://www.sugarsmartuk.org
