Coke to Defend Safety of Aspartame in New Ad

[OhioChick]

NEW YORK August 13, 2013 (AP)

Coca-Cola plans to run its first ad defending the safety of artificial sweeteners on Wednesday, a move that comes as the company looks to stem declining sales of diet soda.

The print ad is set to run in USA Today in the Atlanta area, followed by the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Thursday and the Chicago Tribune next week. It says that diet drinks can help people manage their weight and stresses the scientific evidence showing the safety of aspartame, which is more commonly known under the NutraSweet brand name.

The ad represents the next phase of a campaign Coca-Cola Co. launched in January to push back at critics who blame its sugary drinks for fueling obesity rates. The first wave of ads outlined the company's commitment to fighting obesity and pointed to the many diet options it offers. Now Coca-Cola is trying to reassure people that those lower-calorie drinks aren't harmful.

"Coke is trying to get out front and proactively defend these diet sweeteners," said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest, which tracks the industry.

More: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/coke-defend-safety-aspartame-ad-19947805

[CBGLuthier]

1. Aspartame or huge amounts of sugar. Poison either way.

[valerief]

2. Heaven forbid their crap drinks are sweetened with stevia like the rest of the world. nt

[onehandle]

3. Horrible chemical aftertaste. Headaches for many.

I prefer Splenda. Coke had Diet Coke made with Splenda for a short time. Then they discontinued it.

Fuck them. My wife and I are Sodastream fans now. The diets are sweetened with Sucralose, which is basically Splenda. No more lugging soda bottles or cans from the grocery store.

My wife uses Stevia in her tea and coffee.

[dionysus]

4. how do you like sodastream? i drink a ton of diet soda.. if it's cost effective, i was

considering buying one... do they have a cherry cola flavor?

[Katashi_itto]

6. I am planning on getting one too.

I thought I saw cherry coke somewhere. That is a selling point for me

[onehandle]

8. It's fantastic. My favorite is the Diet Lemon Lime.

Which is great with a little Gin, if you are so inclined.

It is not a great cost saver. You probably break about even. But you do not have to lug bottles and cans from the store. And most importantly, you can have any flavor you want at your fingertips. We usually have about 9 ready to go.

They have just about any flavor you can think of. See here:

http://www.sodastreamusa.com/Sodamix-Flavors-C12.aspx

[dionysus]

11. thanks!

[hobbit709]

13. Can't stand ANY artificial sweetener. Even Stevia leaves an aftertaste to me.

I just flavor my Sodastream with extracts. No sugar or sweeteners and I like it that way.

[onehandle]

15. My wife does that too. nt

[shanti]

16. not here they haven't

i just bought a 12 pak of splenda sweetened coke here in sacramento last week. i've tried the stevia drinks, but don't care too much for the aftertaste. the formula needs to be tweaked. i do use stevia in my tea and oatmeal though...

[pnwmom]

5. My sleep specialist gave me a list of substances that can cause leg jerks and

restless leg syndrome (in some people) at night, and it included Aspartame. No big surprise because I'd already realized it aggravated that problem for me. The problem is that when there's a long list of things that can cause a symptom, more than one is probably contributing. If you eliminate just one of them and symptoms don't improve, you might think the eliminated substance isn't one of the culprits -- but be wrong. In my case I had to eliminate gluten, Benadryl, and Aspartame.

In any case, despite what the manufacturers say, in some people using Aspartame causes neurological effects, including restless legs and migraines.

[pipi_k]

10. Oooohhh...restless

legs!

No fun! I've been getting them for 23 years.

Funny thing, I can never really pin down the reason(s).

It all seems arbitrary. Sometimes it won't happen for months at a time. A year or two, even. Then a week of them, then nothing.

Anyway, another funny thing is that when I was drinking diet sodas with Aspartame, I didn't get them often.

BUT...Aspartame caused extreme anxiety. It was like poison.

I don't drink soda much anymore, preferring water during the day, but when I do have a soda it's once or twice a month with Splenda or the same frequency with real sugar.

Did you ever get the restless arm thing? I've only had it twice in 23 years.

[pnwmom]

14. No, thank goodness.

I've only had it in my legs and that's bad enough.

Food and drug reactions are so individual. That's what makes all this so hard to nail down. In my case with the Aspartame I was lucky. I hadn't had any diet drinks for years when I started drinking one -- back came the restless legs. So I stopped drinking them and then, a couple months later, decided maybe it was a coincidence. So I started drinking Aspartame again and that same night the leg jerks and RLS started again.

But the really bad stuff for me is Benadryl. Not just my legs -- my whole body was jerking. But for most people Benadryl isn't a big deal at all.

[Avalux]

7. When it comes to scientific evidence, the words "safe" and "not harmful" mean one thing.

Per the FDA - that there is NO evidence the stuff won't kill you, cause cancer, or other serious problem (relative to a certain 'dose'). That doesn't mean it won't make you obese, cause headaches or other nagging ailments.

There is ZERO scientific evidence proving that artificial sweeteners consumed daily, especially in large quantities, and for years and years and years at a time, will not have side effects.

So Coca Cola's ad says exactly what it's allowed to by law. "safe", "not harmful", "can help people manage their weight" (not WILL).

A lot of people will assume this means they can drink a six pack of Aspartame-laden soda every day, lose weight and be healthy.

[Aerows]

9. Brainchild, well, share holder of Rumsfeld

He could give a shit who he poisons with Aspartame.

I don't indulge in sugary beverages at all, since I like mine unsweetened, but this is a horrible way to make a fortune.

[Evasporque]

12. of course they are

most of their profits come from it's use....