MOSCOW, September 15 (RAPSI) – Vladislav Grib, First Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Public Chamber, has asked Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to restrict the sale of sugary sweetened drinks to children, Izvestia newspaper writes on Monday.

The Public Chamber, an advisory body to the Russian authorities, claims that sugar-sweetened beverages are especially harmful to children. 

Considering the high social importance of the issue, the Public Chamber has asked Medvedev to instruct the Healthcare Ministry to draft a law regulating the production, distribution and consumption of sweetened drinks.

The appeal is not directed against Coca-Cola or other popular soft drinks, according to Grib. The chamber believes that the ban should concern all sweetened drinks regardless of their origin.

Grib claims that the sale of sweetened drinks should be “maximally restricted, or better prohibited” at children’s facilities.

Public Chamber notes that the sale of soft drinks is prohibited by law in some schools and other children's facilities in the US.