Let customers dispense drinks, control sugar intake in hawker centres and coffee shops

It has been more than three years since the Government declared war on diabetes.

Singaporeans drink tea and coffee daily, and for a start, it is crucial to crimp sugar levels in these hot drinks. We can control sugar intake from such beverages, unlike soft drinks where co-operation with producers tends to be more complicated.

To this end, I suggest that drink stalls in hawker centres and coffee shops adopt what various canteens at the National University of Singapore are doing.

At the drink stalls in these canteens, hot beverages such as coffee and tea are stored in dispensers. These come without sugar.

After payment, customers dispense the drinks and add sugar themselves. A bowl of sugar sits at the counter.

In the canteen of the arts faculty, for example, a notice at the stall tells patrons that sugar is cut from all hot drinks to promote a healthy diet and they are to add it themselves.

This is a healthy move because customers can control the amount of sugar, rather than rely on staff members who may prepare drinks that are too sweet. Customers, therefore, have greater autonomy to decide to have less or no sugar in their drinks. 

It is also less laborious for staff members, obviating the need to memorise the contents of and prepare each drink.

This self-service approach is not novel, and has been used in some food courts and coffee shops. It has also been a long-standing practice in cafes.

If these food-and-beverage outlets can do so, I do not understand why it cannot be done in more coffee shops and hawker centres, which many Singaporeans patronise every day.

The fight against diabetes starts there.