Black Pastors Claim Coca-Cola Worse Than Gang Violence

(RTTNews) - Two prominent African-American pastors have filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association alleging that the beverage makers' "deceptive marketing" has led to enormous costs to their communities.

Pastors William Lamar, from DC's Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Delman Coates, from Mount Enon Church in Maryland, claim that the soda manufacturer deceived customers of their product into believing the health risks weren't as bad as they actually are.

"It's become really clear to me that we're losing more people to the sweets than to the streets," said Coates to Washington Post. "There's a great deal of misinformation in our communities, and I think that's largely a function of these deceptive marketing campaigns."

According to a study report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, black and Latino communities are disproportionately affected by health problems, in comparison with their white counterparts.

Diabetes, hypertension and obesity are big problems in black communities. Soda is consumed at a higher rate in these communities, according to the CDC.