Is the health of our lawmakers a matter of more serious concern than that of the aam aadmi? Well, it appears so if one goes by the ban on aerated drinks, known to cause metabolic syndrome leading to diabetes and heart disease, in all canteens in Parliament.

For, Parliament canteens are the only place in the country where such a ban is in place for over 12 years now even as the country’s educational institutions, including schools, colleges, universities and even health institutions continue to be the highest selling points for such aerated drinks.

By the government’s latest admission, "lead" and other heavy metals like "cadmium and chromium" were found in the samples of five different soft drinks manufactured by two major multinational companies in India. These latest results are revelations in addition to the known, existing harmful effects of consuming aerated drinks.

Last November, Minister of State for Health Faggan Singh Kulaste, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, had said, “Samples of five different cold drinks – Sprite, Mountain Dew, 7UP, Pepsi and Coca Cola – were selected by the stratified sampling method and the samples were submitted to the National Test House (in Kolkata) for testing. Apart from lead, other heavy metals like cadmium and chromium were also found in the samples (due to leaching of toxins from the bottles in which they were packaged)”.

The results were a part of the government-commissioned study by the Drug Technical Advisory Board which had found five different toxins in aerated drinks produced by two major multinational companies in India.

Noted RTI Activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal had sought information in this regard, under the RTI Act 2005 from the Northern Railways, which is the catering agency to Parliament. In a reply to his RTI query, it was stated that since 2003, aerated drinks are banned in all canteens of Parliament as per an order dating back to August 06, 2003. The order, issued by E Ahamed, the then Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Food Management, states, “It is hereby ordered that supply of all soft drinks like Pepsi-cola, Coca-cola, Limca, Mirinda, Orange, 7-Up, Fanta, Sprite, Thums Up, Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Blue Pepsi, etc. and all other brands of drinks of this nature shall be discontinued in the catering centres and canteens within the Parliament House Complex with immediate effect.”

The order further adds, “Agencies of these soft drinks be informed to remove their display refrigerator, advertisement material, if any, from the Parliament House immediately”.

Speaking to The Statesman, Agrawal said, “When such a ban could be imposed in Parliament then why not for the general public as well? After all, the health of the general public is by no means any less important than that of parliamentarians and others using Parliament canteens”.

“In fact, in many countries across the world either these cola companies have voluntarily stopped selling cola drinks in educational institutes or the same have been banned by the respective governments. It is surprising that the Indian government knowing the harmful effects of aerated drinks has allowed their sale to children and general public at large”, he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the University Grants Commission (UGC) had in December last issued a letter to the Vice-Chancellors of all the universities to consider withdrawal of carbonated beverages and junk food from college canteens on the advice of the Women and Child Development Ministry. A similar letter from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was issued a year ago to all its affiliated schools to ban junk food. However, since these letters were only advisories and not “ban orders” as in the case of Parliament canteens, junk food and aerated drinks are sold with impunity across educational institutions and certain corporate hospitals as well.