Fizzy drinks ARE DANGEROUS FOR YOUR HEALTH ‘should have a big health warning like cigarettes’, warns expert SUGAR-packed fruit juice and fizzy drinks should carry health warnings just like cigarettes and poisons, a leading expert has claimed.

SUGAR-packed fruit juice and fizzy drinks should carry health warnings just like cigarettes and poisons, a leading expert has claimed.

Calorie-clogged drinks are fuelling an obesity epidemic warn health experts [ALAMY]

The harm caused by calorie-laden drinks is not being taken seriously enough even though they are directly fuelling an obesity epidemic, says Professor Simon Capewell.

Experts already warn that fruit juice, seen by many as a healthy option, should be drunk no more than once a day.

Prof Capewell, a public health expert from the University of Liverpool, is calling on the Government to follow the example of legislation under consideration in California.

That proposes warnings to consumers about the contribution of fizzy drinks to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Cigarettes have gone from being socially acceptable to quite unacceptable because of warning labels.

Professor Simon Capewell

Prof Capewell said sugary drinks should become as socially unacceptable as cigarettes.

He added: “Cigarettes have gone from being socially acceptable to quite unacceptable because of warning labels.

“The effectiveness of tobacco warnings and plain packaging is now accepted by almost everyone not linked to the industry.”

In a personal view published online in the British Medical Journal’s bmj.com, Prof Capewell said a third of children and two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese in Britain.

Halving US and UK children’s sugar-sweetened beverage consumption could arrest or even reverse that trend, he said.

He highlighted a European study showing adults who drank more than one can of sugary fizzy drinks a day had a 22 per cent higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than a can a month.

Prof Capewell said: “A BBC survey found 60 per cent of adults would support health warnings on food packaging similar to those on cigarettes.

“Around 70 per cent supported banning sugary drinks in schools or limiting sugar allowed in certain foods. Almost half would support a tax on sugary drinks.”

Leading cardiologist Aseem Malhotra said: “Sugary drinks represent a particular health hazard. What is especially concerning is that recent scientific studies have confirmed sugar intake is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes independent of body weight, revealing that we are all vulnerable.

“These chronic diseases contribute to considerable suffering and unsustainable health care costs. It’s high time health warnings were placed on these ‘mini health time bombs’.”

The British Soft Drinks Association said: “Obesity is a far more complex problem than Professor Capewell’s simplistic approach implies and trying to blame one set of products is misguided.”