The famous red Coca-Cola truck should be banned from visiting the city of Liverpool this Christmas, according to members of a U.K. political party
The English city's Liberal Democrat party has written a letter to mall owners who host the truck, asking that the tradition should not take place because Liverpool "is in the grip of an obesity epidemic."
Originally reported in the Liverpool Echo, Liberal Democrat councilor Richard Kemp said almost one in three 11-year olds in the city were currently obese and the visit of Coca-Cola was a cynical event.
"It is not designed to welcome Christmas but to increase the consumption of a product that is grossly unhealthy," said Kemp, according to the report Monday.
Kemp claimed that 10 percent of all hospital beds In Liverpool are currently occupied by people with type II diabetes.
Responding to the criticism, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola Great Britain said in a statement that the Liverpool truck visit, now in its seventh year, always elicited a "positive response."
Coca-Cola Great Britain also said that anyone visiting the holiday truck could enjoy sugar-free and diet versions of the carbonated drink.