Sugar sweetened drinks should carry health warnings similar to those seen on insecticides, cigarettes and other toxic products, according to a UK scientist.
According to Professor Simon Capewell, from the University of Liverpool, the State of California in US is considering a new health bill which will see sugary drinks labelled with health warnings, vending machines to bear warning labels, and fines of between USD 50 and USD 500 per failed inspection.
Capewell thinks this is a good idea, and one that the UK public would support.
He said that many other harmful products already carry warnings such as insecticides, other toxic products and cigarettes - the effectiveness of which he says is "now agreed by almost everyone".
Capewell believes that public support for warnings is high, suggesting that labelling is feasible.
"A recent BBC survey found that 60 per cent of adults would support health warnings similar to those on cigarette packets on food packaging. Even more, 70 per cent, would support banning sugary drinks in UK schools, or limiting the amount of sugar allowed in certain foods," said Capewell.
He said that sugar is "increasingly being implicated as a specific causal factor" for overweight, obesity and heart disease and "current UK and US obesity policies are failing to reverse obesity trends".
Capewell said that warning labels represent an "interesting natural experiment" that "may offer an effective new strategy to complement existing, potentially powerful interventions like marketing bans and sugary drinks duties".
Capewell concluded that "proposals may herald a tipping point in public attitudes and political feasibilities" and that "investors, industrialists, and international health groups will all be watching closely".
