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.”
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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.
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