Circular issued against adding sugar into tea

13 November 2015 12:15 pm

In a bid to control the sharp rise of people falling victims to diabetes, the Health Ministry has laid down regulations for tea shops, restaurants and state and private sector institutions to follow when serving tea, coffee and soft drinks.

Tea, coffee and milk served at state events such as workshops, meetings and functions should be prepared without sugar with a bowl of sugar and spoons  made available so that the guests could use sugar according to their preference, a circular issued by Health Services Director General Dr. Palitha Mahipala said.

A sticker should be in place with the warning, “Less use of sugar prevents diabetes and other diseases.” These regulations are applicable to hotels, restaurants, and tea boutiques as well.

The circular states that the people and the medical staff should be made aware about the demerits of the excessive use of sugar that could cause Non Communicable Diseases (NCD). The selling and serving of food with excessive salt, excessive sugar and oily foods should be minimized in school canteens and food outlets.

The Health Ministry has recruited a number of Endocrinologists specialized in treating diabetes for the control of the disease.

The Health Ministry and the Non Communicable Disease Unit (NCDU) will launch a national awareness programme today to urge the public to use less sugar as a means of preventing diabetes which is increasing rapidly making it one of the main health problems in the country. (Sandun A Jayasekera)