Sugary drinks will be phased out of vending machines and cafes in NSW health facilities by December as the State Government attempts to reduce obesity rates.
NSW Health has confirmed that healthier options would be offered, as drinks with no nutritional value, such as fizzy drinks, will be gone by December.
NSW Health chief health officer Kerry Chant also said that the department would increase the availability of healthy food and drinks.
“We are working toward a 5 per cent reduction in overweight and obesity rates in adults by 2020, and there’s no better way to start than right here on our own doorstep,” she added.
Professor of medicine and senior staff specialist in the Department of Endocrinology at St Vincent’s Hospital, Katherine Samaras, agreed that healthier options are needed. “Healthier choices are fundamental to good health and healthy food is some of the best medicine we can have,” Dr Samaras said.
The department added that NSW was the first state to phase out sugary drinks, whilst the soft drink industry has called the policy a “nanny state approach”.