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Slippery slurp to toxic fat: New campaign urges frozen drink rethink

Published by ADA Inc Thursday, 11 January:

"Don't Be Sucked In", a new campaign by LiveLighter and Rethink Sugary Drink, of which the ADA is a member, is aiming to encourage Victorians to seriously consider the impact on their health of consuming frozen drinks like Slurpees and Frozen Cokes.

Using the deliberately confronting image of a person sipping on a large cup of bulging toxic fat to illustrate the effects of consuming the excessive amounts of sugar in these drinks - the mega $3 Slurpee for instance contains more than 20 teaspoons of sugar - the campaign wants people to think about how drinking too many sugary drinks can affect them.

The sugar in these drinks, which can exceed the levels in soft drinks in some instances, is a leading cause of tooth decay, weight gain, obesity and toxic fat, increasing their risk of 13 types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart and kidney disease, and stroke.

While the campaign's main focus is on weight-related health risks, it is also highlighting the fact that sugary drinks are also a leading cause of tooth decay in Australia, with nearly half of children aged 2–16 drinking soft drink every day.

With ads running on Victorian bus and tram stops for the next two weeks, it is hoped that people will realise that they can consume an entire week's worth of sugar in a single sitting and they will look for healthier alternatives such as water when they are looking to cool off.

In tandem with the campaign, organisers have called again for the instituting of a health levy on sugary drinks, a policy tool they believe will not only help deter people from these cheap and very unhealthy beverages, but which will also help recover some of the significant costs associated with obesity and the increasing burden this puts on our public health care system.

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Click here to view the ADA Inc news story.

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