KUALA LUMPUR – Coca-Cola is under scrutiny after health experts called on the Olympic organisers to cut ties with the US food and drink giant, stating that the current big-money sponsorship deal allowed the company to “sportswash” unhealthy sugary drinks.
The advertising of Coca-Cola’s fizzy drinks can be found everywhere at the Paris Games. Coca-Cola has been sponsoring the Olympics since 1928, and it is understood that it has penned a joint deal worth US$3 billion (RM13.48 billion) to extend its sponsorship of the Olympics until 2032 in Brisbane.
Coca-Cola is the world’s most popular sports marketing brand and according to SponsorUnited data, with 938 total brand deals between January and October 2023, Coca-Cola is the most active brand in sports.
However, according to Trish Cotter and Sandra Mullin of the global health group Vital Strategies, these sugary drinks “offer little or no nutritional value”, and promoting such unhealthy products has no place in sport, reported AFP.
The pair, in a commentary on BMJ Global Health, said that sugary drinks were a “key driver” of a range of serious health problems affecting people across the world, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Coca-Cola’s products also contribute to global plastic pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and use up a huge amount of water, they added.
“By continuing its association with Coca-Cola, the Olympic movement risks being complicit in intensifying a global epidemic of poor nutrition, environmental degradation and climate change,” the experts said in their commentary.
“It’s time for the International Olympic Committee to cut ties with Coca-Cola in the interest of athletes, spectators and the planet.”
The health experts added that last year Coca-Cola had more sports sponsorships than any other brand, including sportswear companies such as Nike.
“This strategy culminates in a gold medal opportunity to ‘sportswash’ an unhealthy product,” they wrote.
The World Health Organisation has called for countries to tax sugar-sweetened beverages.
It is understood that a petition launched ahead of the Games called “Kick Big Soda Out of Sport” has garnered more than 109,000 signatures and has been backed by a range of public health organisations, including the World Obesity Federation.
Coca-Cola has been a pioneer in the sports industry as it also sponsors the FIFA World Cup. – August 7, 2024