Soft drink is history: Sugary drinks banned from Victorian museums

Sugary drinks will be banned at Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum from next month.

Under the ban, soft drinks, fruit juices and flavoured milk will be removed from cafes and eateries at all Museums Victoria venues.

Executive Manager of the Obesity Policy Coalition, Jane Martin, welcomed the move.

“It’s a really great step that they’re taking to ensure that families have healthy choices when they go to these kinds of family-friendly venues,” she told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

“It’s about trying to shift social norms, and trying to make it easy for families.

“I think it’s really important that we see cultural institutions, which are funded by the Victorian government, taking these steps.”

Ms Martin said 27 per cent of Victorian children are overweight or obese, and sugary drinks play a big part in the problem.

“There’s such a problem with childhood obesity, and the leading source of added sugar in children’s diets is from these drinks,” she said.

“Children are having way too many of these kinds of drinks.”

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Image: Steve Robinson Pictures