Sugary foods and drinks should come with a smoking-style health warning, according to a leading Dutch health expert.
Paul van der Velpen, head of Amsterdam’s health service, said that sugar is ‘the most dangerous drug of
our time’.
The health chief – from a city that has a famously liberal attitude to cannabis – added that ‘sugar is a drug like alcohol and tobacco and that its use should be discouraged.
Writing on a public health website, he said that users should be made aware of the dangers.
He wrote: ‘This may seem exaggerated and far-fetched, but sugar is the most dangerous drug of this time and is easy to obtain.’
He added: Just as with smoking labels, soft drinks and sweet products should come with the warning that sugar is addictive and bad for the health.’
I ? Word Understanding
Health chief ? a leader of community free from any illnesses
Far-fetched ? difficult to believe
II ? Have your say
1.More and more people are becoming overweight and that this is increasing healthcare costs at a time
when many governments are trying to save money.
2. Research which suggests that when people are eating fats and proteins they stop when they are
full, but that when they are eating sugars they will keep eating until their stomachs hurt.
3. The Dutch are probably right, but instead of banning this harmful substance, they should limit it’s
public legal use, to say in special cafes.
4. Around 6.5 million Dutch people are overweight, this is more than 40% of the population.
