Will Singapore become the first country in the world to ban advertising of pre-packaged drinks with high sugar content? There are clear indications that this is the intent of the small city state in South West Asia. Legislators are also planning to make nutrition labels mandatory for such drinks.
In a population of 5.6 million a significantly high 11% of Singaporeans aged 18 to 69 have diabetes, and 14% in the same age group have pre-diabetes.
The Singapore Health Promotion Board has majored on promoting changes to peoples’ diets and activities, spreading information about diabetes advertising, events and activities.
Advocacy Action: Can your country learn from Singapore? Is there evidence that advertising is pushing up the incidence of diabetes where you are? Is there a comprehensive public health campaign in play and if not could there be?