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University of Sydney considers soft drink ban

A team of University of Sydney experts want soft drinks banned on campus.

A team of University of Sydney experts want soft drinks banned on campus. Photo: Getty

The sale of sugary drinks could be banned from the University of Sydney as the institution’s executive team discusses the controversial proposal.

The university has declined to reveal how the proposal was received at Friday’s executive team meeting, with a spokesperson saying a decision on the plan is yet to be made.

“As a result of Friday’s meeting, the University Executive has requested further background to inform the discussion, including from the University of Sydney Union,” the University of Sydney said in a statement.

The New Daily spoke to one of the proposed ban’s architects, who urged the university to stop profiting from soft drinks.

“The university does a lot of the research that proves sugary drinks are a problem, so it is incongruous for it to be doing that but still profiting from the products’ sale,” said Professor Bruce Neal, food policy director of the George Institute for Global Health.

“It is pretty clear that sugary drinks are bad for health. They cause bad teeth and are associated with obesity and the long term consequences of that, few people would deny this.”

Prof Neal is part of a team of university staff and researchers known as the Sydney University Healthy Beverage Initiative (SUHBI), which wants sugary drink sales on campus phased out and soft drink use at student events regulated.

He said the proposed ban would cover soft drinks, flavoured milk and sports drinks.

It would not cover plain milk or fruit juice, nor would it apply at campus bars where soft drinks are mixed with alcohol.

“The university can say ‘we are not going to sell these sugary drinks but alternative sugar-free versions will still be available’,” Prof Neal said.

sydney university soft drink ban

Too much soft drink is very harmful, experts said. Photo: Getty

SUHBI research that found 80 per cent of student respondents wanted the promotion of unhealthy products regulated at the university, while 95 per cent believed the university should promote student and staff health.

Some 68 per cent of the 900 respondents agreed that the university should increase the prices of sugary drinks and invest the proceeds into health initiatives.

University of Sydney Student Union President Michael Rees told The New Daily he could not comment on the proposed ban because the union hadn’t met to discuss it. He said the union would meet later this week.

‘Cheap political stunt’

Australian Beverages Council Geoff Parker told Fairfax Media the proposed ban could “mislead and misinform”

“Imposing sales restrictions on students for a small and declining part of the diet not only runs counter to the ethos of free choice that was once heralded on university campuses, it also completely ignores the science,” Mr Parker said.

“Prestigious institutions like Sydney Uni shouldn’t be denigrated by cheap political stunts that only serve to mislead, misguide and misinform the community.”

A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Amatil told The New Daily it had 23 vending machines at various University of Sydney campuses and “at least 65 per cent of the stock in these machines is low or zero sugar”.

“We feel we are already offering students a choice of the right drink for their lifestyle,” the spokesperson said.

The New Daily contacted PepsiCo for its response to the proposal, but did not receive a reply before publication.

The University of Sydney debate comes after the United Kingdom introduced a “sugar tax” in March after a long campaign led by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

The levy – for drinks with more than five grams of sugar per 100 millilitres – will begin in 2017.

A co-written report by the Obesity Policy Coalition and University of Queensland’s School of Public Health released in April found an Australia “sugar tax” could raise $400 million and save 1600 lives per year.

In 2014, a New York City law to ban the sale of sugary drinks in containers of over 500 millilitres was overturned by an appeal court.

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