A SENIOR councillor has called for the city to boycott a festive visit by the Coca-Cola truck.
The lorry made famous in the ‘Holidays are Coming’ advert is touring the UK in the run-up to Christmas and will be in Bradford on Sunday, November 27, to hand out free samples at Morrisons in Bradford Road, Idle.
But Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, leader of the Council’s Liberal Democrat group, said fizzy drink promotions had no place in Bradford while it was fighting a “public health battle”.
She said: “We are in a city which is sitting on a type two diabetes time-bomb, we have got some of the highest rates of child tooth decay in the country, we are fighting a battle in terms of public health to address that and what we don’t need is a slick marketing operation from a soft drinks manufacturer.
“To make a link with Christmas and the holidays is outrageous. Christmas is a religious festival and a time of reflection.
“Coca-Cola will say we have Diet Coke and Coke Zero but actually they are full of artificial sweeteners.”
The Conservative group disagreed and likened Cllr Sunderland to grumpy children’s character The Grinch.
Its leader, Councillor Simon Cooke, said: “It is frankly, quite pathetic. Coca-Cola is going to advertise its products, as it has every right to do, and parents can buy them or not.
“I don’t see that the Coca-Cola truck coming to Bradford is going to make a jot of difference to how fat our children are or whether they have rotten teeth or not.
“Let’s enjoy Christmas for once, rather than moaning about stuff.”
Labour’s deputy council leader, Councillor Val Slater, said she shared Cllr Sunderland’s concerns about Coca-Cola giving away fizzy drinks.
She said: “I don’t want to put a dampener on it and say we don’t want the truck, but I would ask parents to bear in mind the fact that there is probably going to be lots of sugar involved.”
A spokesman for Coca-Cola GB said: “The Coca-Cola Christmas truck tour provides a moment of fun for everyone in the build-up to Christmas and we’ve had a positive response from many people in Bradford to the news that it will stop there this year.
“The tour is now in its sixth year and each year we receive hundreds of requests to visit, something that we take into account when creating a route which has a good geographical spread.”
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