THE intentions of the Sugar Smart City Campaign are honourable.

As discussed in this newspaper previously the number of healthy options at swimming pools and leisure centres available for us to feed our exercise-induced hunger has been pitiful.

When our children jump out of the pool and are confronted by rows and rows of chocolate, sweet drinks and crisps it is very difficult for parents to say no. So when we see those offers taken away we will celebrate that and it will be pats on the back all round.

But the danger is that with the backing of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and news spreading of Brighton and Hove being “the first city to tackle sugar” we are getting ahead of ourselves.

The new #SugarSmartCity label has hit the internet like wildfire, so this has already been a huge public relations success for the city council. But there has to be substance behind the headlines.

Today there is healthy criticism of the campaign as with all the aims spelled out there has to be results and they must be tangible. If not, why bother?

That is why it is very disappointing, after such a big launch, not to hear of discussions with supermarkets and hospitals about creating healthier food offerings.

The launch was well planned – at The Argus we were briefed about it last Tuesday. But we need to hear more about the campaign itself and how they are going to reach their aims. That is what we wanted to be reporting on in The Argus today.

Instead let’s repeat those statistics again; across the city last year there were 180 obese reception age children and another 294 obese Year 6 pupils. Only when we see those figures drop can there be any back slapping.