Tesco’s announcement that it will end the practice of placing sweets and chocolates at checkouts in smaller stores is a welcome step forward.

The company had already stopped selling sweets at checkouts in larger stores 20 years ago in response to campaigns by health professionals and concerned parents.

Similar steps have been taken, at least partially, by the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Lidl retail chains, while Morrisons will review its current practice.

Excessive intake of sugar in confectionery and sweet drinks is affecting growing numbers of our children, with serious health implications for later life.

Tesco’s decision may not be directly linked to the debate at the Wales TUC annual conference in Llandudno on Wednesday when delegates supported a Chuck Junk Off the Checkouts motion proposed by the British Dietetic Association (BDA).

However, the WTUC discussion was an integral part of an ongoing campaign to build pressure on major retailers to sell responsibly.

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BDA delegate Caroline Bovey pointed out that most of our children don’t eat a diet that is good for them, contributing to childhood obesity and increasing risks of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

By age 15, children are eating an average 40kg of sugar a year.

The Welsh Health Survey 2010 reported the incidence of obesity among children aged from two to 15 had risen to 19 per cent from 16 per cent in 2008.

Not only does this threaten children’s health but it can also be used as a pretext for bullying. Overweight children can have self-confidence issues and may experience depression.

The link between excessive sugar intake and obesity is well documented.

While individuals should be assisted to make healthy choices, businesses have a responsibility to take account of their knowledge of the damage that can be done at an early age and to take appropriate action.

Some retailers have begun to respond to public disquiet. Those which have failed to do so should be named and shamed.

Taking a stand

Labour leader Ed Miliband could do worse than to sit down and read TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady’s speech to the Wales TUC conference.

The clarity and commitment to principle expressed in her short offering contrasted starkly with some of the woolly inadequacies that pass for Labour policy commitments.

Above all, O’Grady’s firm internationalist stance over migrant workers coming to Britain is far superior to half-hearted apologies about the last Labour government having let people down by not being “tougher” about immigration.

An incoming Labour government will certainly need to take a tough stance, but not the kind of toughness shown by new Labour.

Toughness directed against workplace rights or benefits claimants is not really tough at all. It’s about attacking people who can’t really fight back.

O’Grady’s call for toughness that requires strength of character by standing up to City spivs and speculators should be Miliband’s model.

Miliband’s proudest moments have been when he has taken on the likes of the Murdoch media and the energy cartel.

Taking the City of London by the scruff of the neck and insisting that big businesses based in Britain pay their fair share of taxation would enthuse working-class voters.

Recognising that we “live in a world where too much wealth and power lies in the hands of too few” should be the first step towards offering policies that will change the situation.