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MAKHOSAZANA MBATHA
Mbatha is what one would call a Coca-Cola addict – and she’s proud of it.
The mother of three from Protea Glen in Soweto loves this fizzy drink so much, it is the first thing she swallows after brushing her teeth in the morning – and the last thing she sips before going to bed each night.
In between dropping her children off at school and eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, a Coke is always in her hand.
“I cannot imagine drinking anything else,” she says.
“Drinking water is such a struggle. But when I drink Coke, I get this warm, fuzzy and satisfying feeling inside.”
Mbatha (40), who is an account manager for one of South Africa’s large cellphone companies, says people find her desire for Coke very strange.
But what they do not understand, she says, is “the fact that it isn’t me who loves Coke; it is Coke that loves me”.
She guzzles at least five glasses of the beverage every day.
She boasts that even her 10-month-old daughter is addicted to this carbonated drink that contains eight teaspoons of sugar in every 330ml can.
Mbatha is aware of the health consequences that come with being addicted to fizzy drinks and having too little water.
But she says it does not sway her.
“I visit my doctor regularly. If anything is wrong with me, he will pick it up early.”
Mbatha says she is not worried about the proposed sugar tax, which could see the price of sweetened drinks increase by 20%.
“The government can increase prices if it wants to, but I will not stop drinking sweetened drinks.
“Coca-Cola is part of my lifestyle and if I try to stay away from it, I feel like there is something missing,” she says.
Mbatha buys at least 48 litres of Coke every month. “It is part of the grocery list,” she says.
