The Populus poll of 1,000 adults in Britain also found more than four out of 10 people would support a tax on sugary drinks. And 59% said warnings on packaging – similar to those on cigarettes – would encourage them to eat more healthily. Sugar industry representatives said demonising sugar was too "simplistic".
The poll – which was carried out for BBC 5Live’s Richard Bacon programme – suggests a majority of people in the UK take a harder line on sugary foods and drinks in schools than government policy, which bans the sale of fizzy drinks, crisps and sweets in local authority-run schools, but leaves the decision of whether children can bring them into schools up to head teachers.
These rules do not apply to academies and free schools which together make up more than half of state secondary schools. Some heads, including that of one primary school in London, have opted for a complete ban on children bringing in sugary and caffeine-based energy drinks. But representatives from the sugar industry say it is being unfairly highlighted as the main cause of health problems, in particular obesity.