Liverpool To Highlight Soft Drink Sugar Levels

Public health officials in Liverpool are tackling an "alarming level" of child tooth decay by exposing sugar levels in soft drinks.

A campaign called: "Is your child's sweet tooth harming their health?" will say how many sugar cubes are in drinks, including Lucozade, Coca-Cola, Tropicana, Capri-Sun and Ribena.

Around 2,000 children in Liverpool will have tooth extractions by age five and over a third will have had tooth decay, say health chiefs.

Public Health Liverpool said a 14-year old recently needed 15 adult teeth removing.

The campaign highlights that 500ml of Lucozade contains 15.5 cubes of sugar while an equivalent bottle of Coca-Cola has 13.5 cubes and a Frijj chocolate milkshake has 12.7 cubes - against a maximum daily allowance of five to seven cubes for children, depending upon their age.

Cut-out boards will be in placed in children's centres, doctors' surgeries, health centres and hospitals.

Director of Public Health Liverpool, Dr Sandra Davies, said: "We are the first local authority in the country to name how much sugar is in specific brands because we feel it is really important that all parents have the facts they need when making decisions about which drinks to give their children.

"Our advice to parents is to take their child to the dentist by the age of one and teach them to brush their teeth correctly from an early age."

Councillor Tim Beaumont, Mayoral lead for wellbeing, said the situation was "contributing to the obesity issue in Liverpool which means that one in four children starting primary school are overweight, rising to 38% for secondary school age pupils."

Sondos Albadri, Liverpool University Paediatric Dentistry Consultant, added: "There is a myth that baby teeth are not important but they are vital as they help guide adult teeth into position. Persistent infections can be detrimental to general health and early loss of baby teeth can lead to problems with adult teeth later.

"I had to remove 15 adult teeth on a 14-year-old recently, and while that is an extreme case it is by no means a rare occurrence."

A new sugar tax on the soft drinks industry, hailed by campaigners after being announced in Chancellor George Osborne's Budget two months ago, is to be introduced in the UK in two years (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) .