LONDON – Ditch the sugared pop and switch to low-cal drinks is the message from Public Health England. The English public health advocate group has launched a campaign to encourage families to stop drinking sugared soft drinks, The Guardian reports. The group also wants them to substitute low-fat milk for whole milk to lower saturated fat intake.

The Smart Swaps campaign is using the fact that many people make New Year’s resolutions to get healthier as its hook. The program also gives families vouchers for lower sugar cereals and reduced fat cheese and butter. 

“Swapping like-for-like food in our diet could help cut out surprising levels of saturated fat, sugar and ultimately calories without having to give up the kinds of food we like,” said Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England. “We all eat too much saturated fat and sugar, which can increase our calorie intake. Together this increases our risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers.”

The British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) countered that the campaign showed its products in a “deliberately negative” light. “It is particularly frustrating for an industry which has been working with the Department of Health to promote healthier behaviors, reformulate products so they are lower in calories, make available smaller pack sizes and focus more of its marketing investment on low- and no-calorie options,” said Gavin Partington, BSDA director general. “It is also disappointing to see our products depicted by the campaign in such a deliberately negative way.”