Testing It Up

A 31-year-old mother from New Zealand succumbed to a heart attack as a result of an addiction to Coca-Cola.

According to a coroner’s report released this week, Natasha Harris died of cardiac arrhythmia in February 2010, and her excessive consumption of Coke  was likely a “substantial factor” in her death. The pathology examination revealed that she had an enlarged liver with fatty deposits due to too much sugar, and low potassium in her bloodstream, Freep.com reports.

“I find that, when all of the available evidence is considered, were it not for the consumption of very large quantities of Coke by Natasha Harris, it is unlikely that she would have died when she died and how she died,” coroner David Crerar wrote in his report.

Harris reportedly drank 2.2 gallons of Coke daily for years which resulted in the removal of multiple rotten teeth and the birth of at least one child lacking tooth enamel. Her partner said she suffered withdrawal symptoms if she didn’t drink Coke.

While experts consider 500 mg of caffeine already dangerous, the mother of eight apparently consumed nearly double of that amount and more than two pounds of sugar.

Coca-Cola expressed disappointment over the coroner’s report which stressed Coke’s involvement in Harris’ death even though the report indicated that the company “cannot be held responsible for the health of consumers who drink unhealthy quantities of the product.”

Did Coca-Cola play a role in the death of a 30-year-old stay-at-home mother of eight in February 2010?

The late Natasha Harris, who succumbed to a heart attack, consumed between 2.1 to 2.6 gallons of soda a day, based on testimony from her partner, Chris Hodgkinson. He gave the following statement in a deposition: “The first thing she would do in the morning was to have a drink of Coke beside her bed and the last thing she would do at night was have a drink of Coke… She was addicted to Coke.”

Hodgkinson is saying that Coca-Cola should place warning labels on their products.

On April 19, Dr. Dan Mornin testified that Harris may have suffered from hypokalemia, or low potassium, as a result of her fondness for Coca-Cola. He testified further that the toxic levels of caffeine in the product may also have contributed to her death.

Harris’ family, on the other hand, testified that she smoked about 30 cigarettes a day and had poor nutrition. Her sister, Raelene Finlayson, shared: “They didn’t live the best lives, but Tasha always put those kids first… They never went without food or anything like that.”

She also said that she did not personally hold Coca-Cola responsible for Harris’ death: “Nobody forced Tasha to drink all that … It’s like anything, we all know anything in moderation is ok.”

Coca-Cola, however, gave the following statement: “We concur with the information shared by the coroner’s office that the grossly excessive ingestion of any food product, including water, over a short period of time with the inadequate consumption of essential nutrients, and the failure to seek appropriate medical intervention when needed, can be dramatically symptomatic .”