Adding sugar to tea by choice

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

The Health Ministry denies certain media reports that serving sugar at hotels, restaurants and tea kiosks is to be banned by the Health Ministry.The ministry will issue a circular shortly instructing hotels, restaurants and tea kiosks to serve sugar separately with tea or coffee without adding sugar to them, a Health Ministry Media Coordinator said.

According to him certain media reports published stating that the Health Ministry will ban the serving of tea and coffee with sugar but it is completely inaccurate. The ministry will introduce new rules and regulations in connection with the way of serving sugar. Under the new rules and regulations, sugar should be served with tea and coffee, but, in a separate cup enabling the customer to add the required amount of sugar into his/her cup of tea or coffee.

The ministry has made this decision considering the rapid increase of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the country. An excessive intake of sugar is one of the main factors for this trend. Diabetes is also on the rise in the country.

Earlier, the ministry discovered that 10 per cent of mothers, 10 per cent of rural people, 20 per cent of urban people and around 15 percent of school children (in Colombo city) suffer from diabetics.

"At present, most hotels, restaurants, tea kiosks and canteens sell tea and coffee with excessive amounts of sugar. They add excessive amounts of sugar to tea and coffee or do not add sugar at all (depending on the requests made by customers). Adding moderate amounts of sugar to tea and coffee never happens", he added.