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Coca-Cola's Christmas truck tour scaled back after protests from health campaigners

Promotion which hands out sugary drinks will take place in a third fewer locations this year

Ben Chapman
Wednesday 14 November 2018 12:03 GMT
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The tour has been welcomed by councils and shopping centres since 1995
The tour has been welcomed by councils and shopping centres since 1995

Coca-Cola has scaled back its annual Christmas truck tour after protests from public health campaigners.

The drinks giant will stop at a third fewer locations on this year’s tour, which has been welcomed by councils and shopping centres since 1995.

The tour kicked off in Glasgow and will visit 24 stops, down from 38 last year. Pressure has grown on Coca-Cola and other drinks manufacturers over the level of sugar in their products which campaigners say contribute to rising levels of diabetes and childhood obesity.

A 330ml can of Coke contains 35g of sugar, about the recommended daily intake for people aged 11 or older.

Smaller cans of Coke are handed out for free from the famous red truck, a publicity stunt that has drawn fire from food and health charity Sustain.

The group has coordinated a letter calling on the company to only hand out sugar-free beverages.

Signatories include the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, World Cancer Research Fund International, the Royal Society for Public Health and 27 local councils.

The group points out that 14 of the 19 stops in England have higher than average levels of obesity among 10 and 11-year-olds.

Public protests against the promotion have taken place in Glasgow, Waltham Forest in London, Plymouth and Bristol.

Last year, the truck was embroiled in controversy, with Liberal Democrat councillors calling for it to be banned from Liverpool due to fears it encouraged the drinking of sugary drinks, contributing to an “obesity epidemic”.

In response to Sustain, John Wood, general manager of Coca-Cola UK and Ireland, said the company expected 90 per cent of drinks handed out this year to be zero sugar and no drinks would be given to children under 12 unless accompanied by a parent.

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