Dentists oppose Coca Cola’s Christmas truck
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- Published: Wednesday, 30 November 2016 07:35
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Dentists in Wales have criticised Coca Cola’s Christmas truck for undoing a lot of their good work in educating families about the dangers of sugary drinks. Thousands of people are expected to descend on Cardiff when the bright red truck drives into the city centre on Thursday, November 24. It was such a popular attraction last year that it caused hours of traffic misery for motorists heading into the Welsh capital.
This winter, health visitors and dental nurses at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) Health Board have expressed concerns over children’s dental health. They are worried the seasonal visit of the brightly-lit truck is encouraging new generations of young people to drink fizzy drinks, even though clinical studies worldwide show they are bad for teeth.
Jane O’Kane, the Board’s lead public health visitor, said: “We know that the acids in fizzy drinks erode tooth enamel which can lead to tooth decay. “Our strong advice to parents is that children only need to drink water and milk, which have a neutral pH level in the mouth. But as NHS staff we just can’t compete with multi-million pound marketing campaigns by fizzy drinks companies, and our message is getting drowned out. However, we see the effects of tooth decay in children every day. It’s heart-breaking, and we feel duty bound to speak out about it.”
Dental nurse and lead for the Designed to Smile children’s dental programme, Mandy Silva, added: “The Coca Cola truck is fast becoming a Christmas icon as our towns and cities give the go ahead for it to tour around, handing out free samples. We don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, but it’s not fun to have decayed teeth either. We want children and young people to enjoy Christmas with healthy smiles.”
Last year, a paper by the British Dental Association called ‘Sugar and Children’s Oral Health’ said: “Nearly a quarter of the added sugar in our diet comes from soft drinks, fruit juice and other non-alcoholic drinks and children aged 11-18 get 40% of their added sugars from drinks, mainly soft drinks, such as cola. The report added that surveys suggested as many as 60% of 12-year-olds showed evidence of tooth erosion.
In response, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola Great Britain said: “The Coca-Cola Christmas truck tour provides a moment of fun for friends and families to come together in the build-up to Christmas. As part of the experience we offer small 150ml cans of Coca-Cola Classic and two sugar-free options – Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Diet Coke. The Christmas truck tour operates in line with our responsible marketing policy so we don’t sample our drinks directly to under-12s.”
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