Junk food, drugs and pornography are having a spiralling impact on the nation's youth, claims an economic think-tank.

More than 49 per cent of young people over the age of six have a taste for synthetic snacks, and last year about 42 per cent of six-to 14-year-olds munched their way through junk food every day.

Malnutrition, obesity, tooth decay and other health woes have occurred because of excessive consumption of seasonings, artificial colours and preservatives, said Ampon Kittiampon, secretary general of the National Economic and Social Development Board.

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