merrion street

Minister for Health Dr James Reilly today (Thursday 22nd May 2014) welcomed the announcement by Tesco Ireland to remove sweets and chocolates from checkouts across all its Irish stores.

"I welcome today's move by Tesco, which I hope will be the first step in a new commitment by our retail sector to help make the healthier choice the easier choice for people and their families. Obesity is a major challenge for our society and all sectors have a role to play in creating a healthier Ireland” said the Minister.

“I believe the move announced today will be supportive in building an environment that supports people to lead healthier lifestyles and I encourage other retailers to follow Tesco’s lead. This move complements other measures introduced by my Department, including calorie posting in restaurants and awareness campaigns on healthy eating” said the Minister.

Concluding the Minister said “The retail sector can play an important role in building a healthier Ireland, not least through supporting our efforts to address the consumption of top shelf food products, such as sweets and chocolate, but in supporting healthier diets overall. This includes working towards a tobacco free Ireland and addressing other public health issues such as alcohol misuse.”