MYSURU: The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Mandya has issued an order temporarily banning the sale of soft drinks to children up to 18 years of age.
The order was passed about a fortnight ago in a meeting chaired by CWC chairperson Mujeebunnisa and based on a media report which said soft drinks consists pesticides which may lead to cancer.
As many as 10 soft drinks have been named in the ban order which includes the products of Pepsi and Coca Cola companies. CWC member BT Vishwanath said a CWC member brought the media report to the notice of the committee and stressed the need to ban the soft drinks in the interest of the children following which the order was issued.
He said CWC is a quasi-judicial body and have the powers to issue order in the interest of children up to the age of 18 years.
However, the committee has no powers to take action and will recommend the government agencies for action against those violating the ban, he said.
Vishwanath said it's a temporary order and they have issued notices to the traders association, District Health Officer and Pollution Control Board for their opinion.
Based, on their order, government can take a decision on whether to ban it permanently or not. However, none have replied to the notices so far.
He said the media report on the basis of which they have issued the order had cited an Indian Medical Association (IMA) report.
It said that the soft drinks contains 20 per cent of pesticides and people consuming it may get cancer besides damaging their livers.
He said the intention behind issuing such an order was more to create an awareness among parents and children about the harm that the soft drinks can do.