Singapore will be the first country in the world to ban advertising for high-sugar drinks in the fight against diabetes. In future, beverages with a medium to high sugar content will also have to be labelled as unhealthy. Whether in bottles, cans or beverage cardboards, all soft drinks, juices, 3-in-1 drinks, milk and yoghurt drinks are affected. When and how exactly the decision will be implemented will be decided next year.

According to Edwin Tong, Minister of State at the Ministry of Health, the aim of the measures is to enable people to make more informed decisions and to encourage manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of packaged sugar-sweetened beverages.

The label on the packaging is colour coded and indicates whether the drink is healthy, neutral or unhealthy.