Coca-Cola's Christmas truck must be banned from Britain to assist combat the nation's booming youngster weight problems disaster, public well being specialists have warned.
The smooth drinks big has lengthy used the intense crimson truck in adverts within the lead-up to Christmas.
For the final 5 years it has additionally been utilized in a nationwide tour, and final month stopped at 44 places throughout the nation the place kids might pose in entrance of the lorry and cans of fizzy cola had been handed out.
Consultants writing within the British Medical Journal mentioned these advertising strategies promote sugary drinks at a time when the Authorities must be doing extra to curb their use.
Public well being officers say Coca-Cola's Christmas truck must be banned from Britain to assist combat the nation's booming youngster weight problems disaster
Professor John Ashton, former president of the College of Public Well being, and Robin Eire, director of the Meals Lively marketing campaign, mentioned the adverts and advertising tour must be banned.
The specialists wrote: 'At Christmas, Coca-Cola's advertising goes into overdrive as newspapers throughout the nation regurgitate press releases for its Christmas truck tour, with advertorials selling the truck as a Christmas custom.
'And naturally the truck is simply the newest of Coca-Cola's campaigns to turn into a vacation model and, certainly, to assist model Santa Claus himself.
'With figures displaying that 33.eight per cent of 10 to 11-year-olds within the north west are chubby or overweight and that 33.four per cent of five-years-olds have tooth decay, many public well being departments have used their ever-squeezed budgets to launch campaigns about sugary drinks to attempt to assist their communities scale back their consumption.
'So Coca-Cola's marketing campaign was scarcely welcomed by native administrators of public well being, medical professionals, educationalists, or certainly members of the general public.'
5 public well being administrators and members of the College of Public Well being, amongst others, signed a letter earlier than Christmas saying: 'We will have a good time with out permitting Coca-Cola to hijack Christmas by bringing false items of unhealthy enamel and weight issues to our kids.'
But the specialists mentioned their letter obtained no publicity.
They added: 'Ought to this type of promoting and advertising be banned, given the rising proof of the impact that advertising of unhealthy food and drinks has on kids?
Figures present that 33.eight per cent of 10 to 11-year-olds within the north west are chubby, they warned within the British Medical Journal
'We consider it ought to and can proceed to push for nationwide motion from organisations reminiscent of Public Well being England to cease comparable campaigns subsequent Christmas.'
Mushy drinks are the largest supply of sugar within the weight-reduction plan of kids and youngsters, based on the newest knowledge collected by Public Well being England.
For 11-to 18-year-olds candy drinks make up 38 per cent of sugar consumption, and for youthful kids, aged 4 to 10, they contribute 27 per cent.
Even the chief government of the NHS, Simon Stevens, has warned there's 'completely no motive' that kids ought to drink sugar-laden liquids in any respect, and warned that most cancers and coronary heart illness could await those that do.
A spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Nice Britain mentioned: 'We had a very optimistic response from customers to final yr's Christmas truck tour.
'As a part of the expertise individuals might take pleasure in a small 150ml can of Coca-Cola Basic or one in all our two no-sugar choices - Weight loss plan Coke or Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.
'We function the tour in keeping with our accountable advertising coverage and we don't present drinks to under-12s until their guardian or guardian is current and completely satisfied for us to take action.
'The Coca-Cola Christmas truck tour started in 2011.
'Wanting on the knowledge referenced by the BMJ opinion piece reveals that the dental well being of kids within the North West has been constantly bettering since 2008 and that childhood weight problems is decrease than at any time since 2010.
'It's subsequently obscure why they assume banning the Coca-Cola Christmas truck will enhance public well being within the area.
'We are going to proceed to take actions to assist individuals to cut back the sugar they devour from our vary of drinks, however the proof suggests the present concentrate on sugar and smooth drinks alone is not going to tackle the issue.'
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