Prevention Matters

The announcement by PepsiCo that it plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while women in Wales smoking during their pregnancy has been named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week.”

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

PepsiCo to stop selling sugary drinks from schools worldwide by 2012

PepsiCo plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide, following the success of programs in the U.S. aimed at cutting down on childhood obesity. The company said last Tuesday it will remove full-calorie, sweetened drinks from schools in more than 200 countries by 2012, marking the first such move by a major soft drink producer.

WORST

One in five women in Wales smoke while pregnant


Wales has the highest rates of women who smoke during their pregnancy in the UK, shocking figures revealed. Despite the social taboo, the figures from anti-smoking charity ASH Wales show one-in-five women continue to smoke throughout pregnancy. Midwives said many young women are smoking while pregnant because they believe they will have smaller “doll-like” babies.