Dentists’ calls to end the sharing of sweets and cakes in newsrooms have been met with disdain by a regional daily’s digital chief.

The Faculty of Dental Surgery has urged people cut down on eating treats at work, which it has dubbed the “workplace cake culture”.

But Bruno Clements, web editor at the Swindon Advertiser, isn’t convinced by the advice and believes the key to long-term health is an active lifestyle.

HTFP reported in July how Bruno, pictured below, cycled 100 miles to raise money for the British Lung Foundation.

Picture: Thomas Kelsey/Swindon Advertiser

An Advertiser story on the FDS advice quoted Bruno, who said: “Obviously the faculty have our best interests at heart when they tell us to lay off the chocolate and cake at work but the reality is that most of us need something to give us a quick boost during the day.

“Perhaps the answer is to walk or cycle to work and be active outside the office so that snacks like these have as little impact as possible.”

Bruno told HTFP: “We all know the message of eating less sweet stuff at our desks is the right one for our teeth and our waistlines but it’s going to take a while for it to be a culture-change that we can live with, especially as journalists with deadlines to meet and ever-increasing workloads turn to snacks to keep spirits and output up.

“Having started work in 1980 for the West Briton at Truro, I can remember a time when journalists would have a cigarette permanently on the go at their desks, much to the frustration of the non-smokers, so things can and do change for the better at least some of the time.”