Health organisations are trying to burst Australia's soft drink bubble with a new campaign calling for a tax on sugary beverages.
The Rethink Sugary Drink campaign, launched on Thursday, will include a TV ad encouraging Australians to give up the soft drink habit and switch to water and reduced-fat milk.
The ad, borrowed from a similar New York campaign, is part of a call to action by the Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia and the National Heart Foundation to stem obesity rates.
In addition to taxing soft drinks, the group also recommends restricting the sale and marketing of sugary drinks to children at schools and limiting their availability in workplaces and public places.
However, Australian Beverages Council chief executive Geoff Parker said the campaign was misguided, saying industry had already restricted marketing of sugary drinks to children and clearly labelled kilojoules on cans and bottles.
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"Focusing on a single source of kilojoules in the diet hasn't worked in the past and ignores the concept of the total diet," he said in a statement. "No one food or beverage causes overweight or obesity.
Consuming more kilojoules than what is burnt through physical activity is what leads to weight gain."
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores executive director Jeff Rogut said imposing taxes on sugary drinks will place a burden on business.
"The economic ramifications for manufacturers, suppliers and retailers would be immense, yet the potential for such measures to achieve improved health outcomes is unknown," Mr Rogut said in a statement.
"Applying tax to certain items because those items have an emotional association to obesity in the minds of some groups is not only flawed, it's short-sighted and lazy."
