COLOMBO — Sri Lanka began strictly enforcing a nationwide ban on fast food and sugary sweets across all school premises today, marking a major legislative escalation in the government’s battle against a surging public health crisis among youth.
The directive, issued jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health, targets school canteens, vending operations, and immediate campus environments. Under the new regulations, vendors are prohibited from selling deep-fried items, carbonated soft drinks, processed meats, and high-sugar confectionery to students.
The Health Emergency Behind the Ban
The aggressive policy shift follows a series of alarming medical reports indicating a sharp, unprecedented rise in lifestyle-related illnesses among Sri Lankan children over the past decade.
Health officials warned that traditional dietary shifts toward ultra-processed foods, combined with increasingly sedentary lifestyles, have created a ticking time bomb for the state-funded healthcare system.