NCD Alliance Scotland have produced an open letter following the announcement that Jubel X and Coca Cola will officially sponsor the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year. Please see below for the letter which was sent to the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Games:
We are writing as members of the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Alliance Scotland to request a meeting to discuss our concerns around the recent announcement of Jubel X and Coca Cola as official partners for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
This year’s Commonwealth Games is an opportunity to showcase both Glasgow and Scotland at their best. Events like the Commonwealth Games draw huge audiences, many of them children and young people. At its best, sport can improve health and wellbeing, break down barriers and help bring people together. We want children and young people watching the Commonwealth Games to leave feeling inspired to be more active – as the athletes of tomorrow, or simply to be healthier and happier.
However, sponsorships like this directly affect young people. There is clear evidence that the more often young people are exposed to alcohol marketing, the earlier they are likely to start drinking and the more they are likely to consume. An evidence review published by Public Health Scotland in 2025 said, “alcohol marketing and advertising is pervasive and persuasive, and frequent exposure to it drives alcohol consumption and related harms, including among children and young people”. Billions of pounds are invested each year by alcohol companies in marketing their products. This is with an aim not only to increase market share, but also to increase consumption, target heavy drinkers and recruit new drinkers.
We are encouraged to see the Commonwealth Games is committed to allocating smoke and vape free family zones, promoting Scotland’s Quit Your Way stop smoking services and providing free drinking water. However, the appointment of Coca Cola as the official soft drinks sponsor is a concern. While Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is positioned as the lead product, the Coca-Cola brand remains closely linked with high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products. It’s visibility within a globally prominent, family-focused sporting event risks shaping children’s perceptions and preferences. Evidence from a recent survey of 1,046 young people aged 11–16 shows that 63% associate the brand with Coca-Cola Original, compared to just 15% with Coca-Cola Zero. Alongside its contribution to obesity and wider non-communicable diseases, soft drink consumption also has clear oral health implications, with even low- and zero-sugar variants contributing to dental erosion due to their high acidity. Collectively, these harms are felt most acutely in Scotland’s most deprived communities. In this context, the association of the Games with a globally recognised soft drinks brand risks undermining efforts to promote health and reduce inequalities.
It seems highly counter intuitive for the Commonwealth Games to be marketing products entirely at odds with the highest ideals of sport, and which may risk tarnishing any positive health and wellbeing legacy the Games might bring to the City of Glasgow – a city with the highest alcohol death rate in the country – and Scotland, a country still grappling with growing health inequalities.
We know that organising a major sporting event in a challenging economy, at short notice, comes with significant challenges. Sponsorships are essential for events like the Commonwealth Games – but it’s vital that those same sponsorships don’t undermine the legacy and impact that the Games can have.
NCD Alliance want to see a healthier Scotland, where everyone is more physically active, has access to healthy foods, and where health harming products like alcohol, tobacco and nicotine shorten and restrict lives. We would welcome the chance to meet with you, and discuss how we can make a lasting shift away from health harming sponsors.”
David McColgan, chair of NCD Alliance Scotland
NCD Alliance Scotland is a coalition of 24 leading health organisations campaigning for action on health harming products. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death and ill health in Scotland, responsible for over four in five deaths. Many of these deaths are preventable; around one in five could be prevented by reducing the consumption of alcohol, unhealthy food and drinks and tobacco and related products. These health harms do not affect everyone equally, with those living in the most deprived areas experiencing the biggest negative impact from NCDs and health-harming products.