Sir, it is with interest that we followed the news regarding the quantity of sugar contained in hot beverages served in some of the UK's most popular cafes.1 A red label warning of excessive sugar levels would be required for 98% of the 131 hot beverages surveyed should they be labelled, and 35% containing the same, or even more sugar than a can of Coca Cola.
The worst offender was the 'Hot Mulled Fruit' beverage from Starbucks which contained 99 g of sugar per serving, the equivalent of 25 teaspoons of sugar, closely followed by Costa Coffee's Chai latte containing 79.7 g of sugar per serving.2 With the popular trend of adding high sugar syrups into coffee this seems to be an easy way to help surpass the latest World Health Organisation recommendation of free sugar intake to be less than 5%.3 High free sugar intake can contribute not only to dental caries, but to myriad other health problems including increased body weight and diabetes.
Obviously as dentists we are aware of the dangers of unlabelled food and hidden sugars and in light of this and of the frequency of consumption of these hot beverages (claimed to be one in five visiting a coffee shop daily4) perhaps it would be prudent to highlight this information to our patients on a more regular basis?
References
Brignall M . The cafes serving drinks with 25 teaspoons of sugar per cup. The Guardian 17 February 2016. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/17/cafe-chains-selling-drinks-25-teaspoons-sugar-starbucks-costa-coffee.
Action on Sugar. Shocking amount of sugar found in many hot flavoured drinks. Available at: http://www.actiononsugar.org/News%20Centre/Surveys%20/2016/170865.html.
World Health Organisation. Sugars intake for adults and children guideline. 2015. Available at: http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/.
Shubber K . Everyone wants a taste of booming UK coffee market. Financial Times 24 March 2015. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/860d06cc-d13c-11e4-98a4-00144feab7de.html#axzz3nPPAMG3Qe (subscription required).
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Harris, L., Barry, H. Sugar: A latte on my mind. Br Dent J 220, 431 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.317
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2016.317