As soft drinks companies' profits and popularity fall in America and Europe, they are expanding in the developing world by copying the techniques of tobacco companies.So says a report called Carbonating the World by the US Centre for Science in the Public Interest.It slams Coke and PepsiCo for trying to increase market share by targeting young people in developing countries like South Africa.The report warns of growing obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay in Asia, the Middle East and Africa as Coke invests R40-billion to develop markets as part of its global strategy. Coca-Cola chief financial officer Gary Fayard has been criticised for calling the world's 3.5 billion people in their teens and 20s "our core demographic".The centre asks developing country governments to block advertising to children and warns them to be less influenced by "big soda's" attempts to buy goodwill through charity projects.It also highlights junk food companies' attempts to manipulate science by denying a link between sugary drinks and ill health. Tobacco companies used a similar ploy, questioning the link between smoking and cancer.Industry-sponsored studies are five times less likely to link sugary drinks to ill health than independent studies that link sugary drinks to weight gain, heart disease and diabetes, says the report. The centre scorns claims by junk food companies that exercise can balance out the ill-effects of fast food and sugary drinks.Many junk food companies sponsor initiatives to promote exercise.Coke SA is criticised in the report for sponsoring school signboards in South Africa, which the report says, amounts to advertising to children.The report calls on the developing world to fight back by:Embarking on well-funded-campaigns to discourage the consumption of sugary drinks;Banning sugary drinks in government buildings such as schools, prisons and hospitals;Banning advertising of sugary drinks to children; andTelling soft drinks companies to stop opposing government efforts to reduce harm from sugary drinks.Mapule Ncanywa, executive director of Beverages SA, said a decision had been taken not to advertise to children under 12...