Health board wants energy drinks banned from some city spaces
Toronto Council will decide on energy drink ban.

TheStar.com
March 20, 2017
Betsy Powell

The Toronto Board of Health is asking council to ban the sale or distribution of caffeinated energy drinks on city-owned property or facilities, including recreation centres, parks, stadiums, public squares and right-of-ways.

After stakeholder consultations, Toronto Public Health was recommending an “incremental approach” to raising public awareness about the potentially negative effects of mixing caffeine and alcohol, particularly with young people.

“Toronto Public Health reviewed the evidence and found no compelling reason to deviate from the current precautionary public health approach that encourages limits in (caffeinated energy drink) consumption,” acting medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe wrote in a report.

The report noted Health Canada approves all caffeinated energy drinks (CEDs) that are sold or marketed in Canada.

But visiting Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker introduced a motion at Monday’s health board meeting recommending council not permit the sale, marketing, promotion or sampling of CEDs in any city-owned property or facility.

Councillor Mike Layton said while he agreed with that motion’s intent, he had concerns about pre-existing contractual obligations between energy drink companies and events held on city property, such as Exhibition Place which plays host to the CNE and Honda Indy Toronto.

Layton scrambled to introduce an amendment to the motion so it would conform with the Municipal Alcohol Policy, exempting the ban from Exhibition Place, civic theatres, community centres and Yonge-Dundas Square.

The Canadian Beverage Association said given the “rigour” of the consultations, it was “unexpected” the recommendations would be altered.

Council is expected to vote on the recommendation at its meeting next week.

Also Monday, the health board unanimously endorsed the Toronto Overdose Action Plan that received wide praise from members of the city’s harm-reduction community.

“It’s a critical step forward, and it is a sign that this city… treats overdose seriously,” said Councillor Joe Cressy, who chaired Monday’s meeting at city hall.

The dramatic rise in overdose deaths in Toronto and across the country has been declared “an urgent public health crisis.”

Cressy said at long last, drug addiction is being treated as a public health issue, “reflected by both the tone and tenor of the debate that people say ‘let’s get on with it,’” he said.

Absent from the vote was Councillor Christin Carmichael Greb, who abruptly quit the health board during Monday’s meeting without explanation and before any voting took place.

Her departure left Cressy scrambling to maintain quorum for the votes on CEDs and the overdose strategy.

Cressy said he was “notified that a resignation had taken place” but refused to speculate on the circumstances, and whether it might have related to the overdose report.

Last summer, Carmichael Greb was one of three councillors who voted against supervised injection sites for intravenous drug users. They are scheduled to open later his year.

She did not respond to the Star’s request for comment.