British Dental Health Foundation welcomes UK sugar reduction efforts

The British Dental Health Foundation has welcomed the recent attention being brought to the issue of excessive sugar consumption among people in the UK.

A recent report from Public Health England has shown that children between the ages of four and 18 are getting 30 percent of their sugar intake from sugary drinks, which could be putting their oral health at risk.

The charity has been calling for the government to implement a tax on sugary drinks for some time, a measure that health secretary Jeremy Hunt has so far declined to support.

However, the food industry is taking a more proactive stance, with Tesco recently taking the decision to pull high-sugar drinks such as Ribena and Capri Sun from its store shelves.

Dr Nigel Carter, the charity's chief executive, said: "The British Dental Health Foundation are pleased that something is finally happening to combat our nation's addiction to sugar and hopefully we will see tooth decay levels fall over the coming years."