Sugar is no longer just a “sweet treat”, it is the number one threat to Europe’s public health. As the EU population ages, uncontrolled sugar consumption is driving a hidden epidemic of tooth loss, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, placing disproportionate burden on European health systems.
Brussels, 25 March 2026: The Council of European Dentists (CED) convened a high-level policy event at the European Parliament, hosted by MEP Dario Tamburrano (The Left), to address the critical regulatory gaps in sugar control policies across the European Union. The session exposed a bittertruth: the devastating impact of insufficient regulation and industry strategies is no longer just a matter of oral health, it is a systemic health crisis undermining general well-being.
The amount of sugar used by the food industry exceeds by more than threefold what is needed to meet WHO recommendations of free sugars account for less than 10% of daily energy intake.
From the Clinic to the Frontlines of Policy:
As sugar remains the first modifiable risk factor for dental caries and a primary driver of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), CED member speakers addressed a central question: How can the dental profession advance and decrease risk factors oral health through stronger regulatory frameworks?
Experts presented comprehensive overview of sugar consumption and policy practices across the EU, showcasing successful national advocacy models and oral health promotion campaigns from the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Germany, and France. These initiatives demonstrated the leading role national dental associations play in curbing sugar intake and fostering public health literacy.
The non-governmental organisation Safe Food Advocacy Europe (SAFE) brought a consumer perspective to the debate, with examples of EU-funded projects for food literacy trainings in schools and the development of a smartphone BiteWatch app for increasing understanding and encouraging healthier food choices. European consumers are often left in the dark by complex labelling and aggressive industry marketing, making “healthy choices” nearly impossible.
Recommended steps:
The event served as a strategic platform for the advancement of CED’s key recommendations for
- Reducing excessive sugar intake through robust EU-wide policies
- Mitigating general adverse health effects by addressing common risk factors
- Integrating oral health into a holistic prevention model that supports general systemic well-being
The CED therefore urged EU decision-makers to move beyond industry self-regulation by:
- Introduce EU-wide trade barriers and tariffs on imported raw sugar
- Adopt an EU wide sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, extending taxation to ultra-processed foods
- Implement a comprehensive sugar advertising directive, to eliminate aggressive marketing, sugar industry sponsorship, and digital advertising of high-sugar products targeting children and adolescents
- Require mandatory front-of-packet labelling
- Strengthen the EU’s nutrition policy and establish nutritional standards for public amenities, banning high-sugar products in schools, hospitals, and care homes
- Promote oral health promotion strategies, sugar and oral health literacy and drive interprofessional collaboration, integrating oral health into systemic health measures