Coke habit led to mum's death

Drinking up to 10 litres of Coca-Cola a day played a substantial part in the death of a 30-year-old woman and labels should warn against consuming too much of it, a coroner says.

Invercargill mother-of-eight Natasha Marie Harris died in February 2010. Her family claimed the soft drink should carry warning signs after she drank up to 10 litres daily, consuming around 1kg of sugar each day in the process.

Coroner David Crerar, in his findings released on Tuesday, ruled she died of cardiac arrhythmia, or a disrupted heartbeat, following about 18 months of ill health.

He said, after listening to various experts, that it was more likely that drinking large amounts of Coke was a substantial contribution to the metabolic imbalances which gave rise to the cardiac arrhythmia.

Ms Harris had drunk Coke heavily since her teens.

Her partner, Chris Hodgkinson, said she had a poor diet and would drink Coke first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

All her teeth had been removed because they were rotting, and even one of her children was born without tooth enamel.

She did not drink alcohol or smoke cannabis, but smoked about 30 cigarettes a day.

Mr Crerar said Ms Harris, who was aware that cigarettes were bad for her, should also have been aware of the health hazards of her lifestyle.

Coke labels showed how much sugar the drink contained.

Ms Harris may have been "addicted" to some of Coke's ingredients "but all constituents of Coke are entirely legal, are enjoyed by millions and Coca-Cola cannot be held responsible for the health of consumers who drink unhealthy quantities of the product", he said.

Mr Crerar recommended the Ministry of Health consider whether current warning labels on soft drinks gave enough protection to consumers on the dangers of drinking too much of them.

He also recommended Coca-Cola think about labelling how much caffeine is in its drinks, and include warnings on drinking too much caffeine.