A Cape Breton pharmacy owner has banned pop and other sugary drinks from his store, saying he is increasingly seeing the health troubles that can be caused by poor diet.
As a pharmacist, Graham MacKenzie says he regularly sees the medical problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, that can be linked to a diet too high in sugar.
āWe tell people donāt drink pop, donāt drink juice (but) on the way out the door, theyāre walking by these pop machines,ā says the owner of Stoneās Pharmasave in Baddeck, N.S. āIt just didnāt make sense to me.ā
Many of the drinks previously sold in Mackenzieās pharmacy are loaded with sugar -- often the equivalent of nearly 10 teaspoons per can.
Also gone from MacKenzieās pharmacy are sports drinks and vitamin water, leaving only bottled water and milk on the shelves.
āPeople really didnāt realize the effect that the sugar in these drinks had,ā MacKenzie said. āSo kids were going to school with a juice box, adults coming in that would consume a drink of pop every day.ā
While some of MacKenzieās regular customers were caught a bit off guard by the ban, for others, itās a welcome change.
āThe drug store is a place where you come to have your prescriptions filled and to have a product that actually enhances your health,ā said Robert OāHearn.
He says in the first couple of days, feedback has been mostly positive, and heās hoping other pharmacies follow suit.
āWeāre getting into a generation where children may be dying before their parents and itās because of the diet we have, especially here in North America,ā MacKenzie said.
Chocolate bars are still for sale at Stoneās, but MacKenzie said heās looking to get rid of them, too.
With a report by CTV Atlanticās Ryan MacDonald
