‘Swap fizzy drinks for water in schools’

A CHARITY is calling on second-level schools to replace fizzy drinks with bottled water to help improve the health and lifestyles of their students.

A principals’ representative has given a guarded welcome to the proposal by RedBranch but said it could be difficult to implement or to get teenagers to change their habits.

The charitable company says its initiative will allow schools to dump unhealthy vending machines and gain access to bottled water at a reduced price. In a trial of the programme in the mid-west, it claims 60% of secondary schools have ditched the sale of fizzy drinks.