The author of a new book on the soft drink industry has suggested fizzy beverages should carry a health warning in the same way as cigarettes.
The US writer Marion Nestle, who launched Soda Politics late last year, argues soft drinks have no nutritional value, and place a burden on the health of many countries.
And consumers seem to be waking up to the fact in both the States and Australia.
Aggressive pricing and changing consumer trends have restrained growth in the sector, according to IBISWorld.
Packaged water is expected to overtake global carbonates consumption to reach over 233 billion litres this year, according to Canadean, while carbonates are expected to grow at a slower pace to around 227 billion litres.
Coca-Cola Amatil’s (CCA) attempts to address declining consumer interest in soft drinks through new branding strategies, alternative ranges and packaging design innovation in 2015 failed to offer the desired boost to profits, according to financial results late last year.
The beverage bottler and supplier has recorded a flat first half profit, partly due to weaker earnings from its core Australian business.
CCA made a net profit of $183.9 million for the six months to June 30, up less than one per cent from $182.3 million the year earlier.
Despite the drops, Nestle felt a need "to inspire readers to action".
Her issue lies with the fact that 10 per cent of Americans consume more than four cans a day.
In Soda Politics, Nestle refers to a study which found that, for each can added to a person's daily diet, the risk of diabetes jumped by 22 per cent.
There are also links between sugar and heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Soft drink companies spend billions on marketing, and the campaigns issued by Coca-Cola are world-class.
Nestle is concerned by the drinks' addictive quality, citing evidence which shows some laboratory animals prefer sugar to cocaine.
One of the biggest battles, the author writes, is the broad team of allies these soft drink companies have, from employees, bottlers and distributors through to restaurants, cinemas, shops and sports stadiums.
Nestle, ultimately, suggests soft drink bottles are sold with warning labels, such as pictures of a diabetic's foot ulcer.
Australia has had its share of dialogue about soft drinks, with a study released last year linking consumption with heart disease in men.
In surveying 42,400 men, it claimed the habit was associated with a 23 per cent higher risk of developing heart failure.
The Australian beverage industry responded by saying the findings were ill-informed.
According to Geoff Parker, the CEO of beverage industry body the Australian Beverages Council, linking the consumption of any one food or beverage to heart failure was "extremely misleading".
“In no way does the study demonstrate or provide any correlation between the consumption of sweetened beverages and increased prevalence to heart failure," Parker told Food & Drink Business.
“In fact, the accompanying editors of this study admit that overconsumption of sweetened beverages is typically indicative of an overall poor diet, which is more of a causal factor in itself than any one food or beverage in particular.”
Parker also said the study, which has raised more questions than answers according to its peer-review, demonstrates no causal relationship between sweetened beverage consumption and heart failure.
“It only serves to further confuse and distort the health landscape,” he said.
“Like many other foods and beverages, sweetened drinks have a place in a balanced diet and can be enjoyed in moderation by using simple common sense.”
