Rob Beaglehole

Rob Beaglehole reckons that food and beverage manufacturers are to blame for rotten children’s teeth.

He is wrong, it is the parents fault.

The soft drinks industry has hit back at claims that its products are to blame for a rise in the number of toddlers needing to have rotten teeth pulled out.

Dentist and veteran anti-sugar lobbyist Rob Beaglehole said earlier this week that cavities in children’s teeth were on the rise, and some as young as 18 months were having multiple rotten teeth pulled out after parents fed them soft drinks through sipper bottles, and chocolate biscuits as bedtime treats.

“The issue of young children with rotten teeth is one of poor parenting. No more and no less,” Kerry Tyack, executive director of the New Zealand Beverage Council said.

The council represents soft drink giants Coca-Cola and Frucor,  as well as boutique manufacturers such as Phoenix.

Tyack said parents should be “in complete control” of what young children ate and drank, and said it was “a complete evasion of parental responsibility to shift the blame for the state of these children’s teeth onto the manufacturers of products which should, after all, be consumed as treats or in moderation”.

“It’s not the products. It’s the decision to use them inappropriately.”      Read more »

Cameron Slater

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.

They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.

He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.

Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.

To read Cam’s previous articles click on his name in blue.

http://whaleoil.co.nz

Some anti-sugar lobbyists think they’re doing a great job in the battle to stop Kiwi kids getting fatter.

Then there are some like Dr Rob Beaglehole who sadly, start to believe their own kool-aid and lose perspective. Today we see such an example.   Read more »

Cameron Slater

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.

They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.

He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.

Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.

To read Cam’s previous articles click on his name in blue.

http://whaleoil.co.nz

Yesterday I ran an article about the strange decision of the Marlborough District Council to look at banning sugary drinks.

I also gave Dr. Rob Beaglehole a sound kicking as well.

I am opposed to councils meddling like this, especially if that same council has decided not to put fluoride in their water. It is my contention that in the case highlighted yesterday that poor parenting firstly and then intransigent councils are the problem, not sugar in drinks.

Dr. Beaglehole phoned me yesterday and we had a friendly discussion about the issue. I suspect we will never agree on the issue of sugary drinks but we do agree on fluoride.

He has emailed me his thoughts and I publish those unedited and with his permission.  Read more »

Cameron Slater

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.

They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.

He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.

Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.

To read Cam’s previous articles click on his name in blue.

http://whaleoil.co.nz

The Marlborough District Council are a bunch of loons.

They are now seeking to ban sugary drinks from council facilities in a bid to save kids teeth.

Marlborough District Council could become the second council in New Zealand to ban sugary drinks from being sold at their venues and events.

The council is to develop a policy around the ban after the region’s principal dental officer warned sugar-sweetened beverages were rotting children’s teeth and ramping up levels of obesity and Type II Diabetes.

The council has come under pressure from the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board and Nelson City Council (NCC) to implement a ban on sugary drinks at its events venues. NCC adopted the ban in July and it has been well received by ratepayers there.

If a similar policy gets the green light in Blenheim it would cover sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and flavoured milk.

They would be banned from sale in council buildings, at its venues including Stadium 2000 in Blenheim, the ferry terminal and airport and at council-run events.

Diet soft drinks would still be sold and people who wanted a sugary drink could bring it to a council building or event.

Nelson Marlborough principal dental officer Dr Rob Beaglehole, who fought for the board to introduce a similar policy in top of the south hospitals, said the council had a responsibility to act as a role model.

“This isn’t a draconian policy for a blanket ban on sugar. We are not about to stop telling people they can’t have sugar in their tea or coffee. It is about making the healthy choice the easiest choice.”

He was sick of extracting rotten teeth from children who had been drinking soft drinks. Last month he pulled 11 teeth from a 2-year-old boy.

Most of his front teeth were rotten and after the extraction he needed 15 stitches.

“He wasn’t in great shape. He hadn’t been sleeping properly for weeks and he hadn’t eaten properly for two weeks.

“His mum was beside herself and sat up with him most nights. He was crying in pain.”

Read more »

Cameron Slater

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.

They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.

He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.

Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.

To read Cam’s previous articles click on his name in blue.

http://whaleoil.co.nz