Slashdot Mirror
The Decline of 'Big Soda': Is Drinking Soda the New Smoking?
HughPickens.com writes: Margot Sanger-Katz reports in the NYT that soda consumption is experiencing a serious and sustained decline as sales of full-calorie soda in the United States have plummeted by more than 25 percent over the past twenty years. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they are actively trying to avoid the drinks that have been a mainstay of American culture but bottled water is now on track to overtake soda as the largest beverage category in two years. The changing patterns of soda drinking appear to come thanks, in part, to a loud campaign to eradicate sodas. School cafeterias and vending machines no longer contain regular sodas. Many workplaces and government offices have similarly prohibited their sale.
For many public health advocates, soda has become the new tobacco — a toxic product to be banned, taxed and stigmatized. "There will always be soda, but I think the era of it being acceptable for kids to drink soda all day long is passing, slowly," says Marion Nestle. "In some socioeconomic groups, it's over." Soda represents nearly 25% of the U.S. beverage market and its massive scale have guaranteed profit margins for decades. Historically, beverage preferences are set in adolescence, the first time that most people begin choosing and buying a favorite brand. But the declines in soda drinking appear to be sharpest among young Americans. "Kids these days are growing up with all of these other options, and there are some parents who say, 'I really want my kids to drink juice or a bottled water,' " says Gary A. Hemphill. "If kids grow up without carbonated soft drinks, the likelihood that they are going to grow up and, when they are 35, start drinking is very low."
For many public health advocates, soda has become the new tobacco — a toxic product to be banned, taxed and stigmatized. "There will always be soda, but I think the era of it being acceptable for kids to drink soda all day long is passing, slowly," says Marion Nestle. "In some socioeconomic groups, it's over." Soda represents nearly 25% of the U.S. beverage market and its massive scale have guaranteed profit margins for decades. Historically, beverage preferences are set in adolescence, the first time that most people begin choosing and buying a favorite brand. But the declines in soda drinking appear to be sharpest among young Americans. "Kids these days are growing up with all of these other options, and there are some parents who say, 'I really want my kids to drink juice or a bottled water,' " says Gary A. Hemphill. "If kids grow up without carbonated soft drinks, the likelihood that they are going to grow up and, when they are 35, start drinking is very low."
Not to mention it's bottled by the same companies like Pepsico and Coke that make soda. So if people keep drinking water these companies have nothing to worry about.
We should make them worry and stop buying bottled water. Not only are you flushing your money down the toilet, but getting all those empty bottles out of our waste stream would be a great benefit for all of us.
Along with that, I think somebody should point out that fuit juice is almost as bad as soda. Sure it contains a small dose of nourishment absent from soda, but the amount of sugar in it just isn't worth it and can contribute to obesidy, fatty liver, cholesterol, and other problems just as bad as soda does.
Most fruit juices have a lot of sugar. Fruit contains a lot of fructose, water, and fiber. So squeeze out the water that contains the fructose, the fiber gets left behind, and you have something that is by volume and weight a tons of sugar.
Apple juice is a good example. If you go and have a look at the Simply Apple stuff at a grocer you can see easily. It really is 100% pure apple juice. They don't add any sweetener or anything else, they just squeeze the juice out of apple and bottle that shit up... and it is as high calorie as soda. 180 calories per 12 oz (355ml). For comparison Pepsi is 150 and Mountain Dew is 170.
I love apple juice, it tastes fantastic, but you can't fool yourself in to thinking that because it is juice it is magically good.
Hopefully you at least reuse the water bottle 2 or 3 times before you toss it, and only use bottled when you're out of the house (no access to cups and glasses)? Otherwise that's just plain lazy.
Fructose sweetener. Forget it.
Switch back to cane sugar. Fuck the sugar cartel. Throw them all in prison.
Have gnu, will travel.
So you are one of those activists who'd like to see more successful companies go under, as opposed to selling alternative products to their traditional cash cows. So an RJR Nabisco or Phillip Morris should preferably have gone under, instead of selling things other than tobacco that would have left them in the black? And same for Coke & Pepsi?
Bottled water is a legal product. May be 100% profit, but still legal. I never buy it, and somewhat pity morons who decide to stuff their fridges w/ it instead of using a Britta tap filter or a pitcher. Since I rarely drink water - always preferring either coke or lemonade or an alcoholic beverage, I don't have it. But that's their decision. Who exactly died and annointed you Caliph?
I also don't see energy drinks included in this. Energy drinks are tracked as their own category from soda and other soft drinks. The energy drink market has still been growing. I know I've seen more people with redbull, monster and other energy drinks, many of those replaced the mountain dew or other soda that used to be there.
Pepsi and Coke have taken stakes in many of the energy drink companies. I don't think anyone has to worry one bit about 'Big Soda' disappearing any time soon.
You don't need to filter it. Tap water is drinkable as is. Seeing people buying cases of bottled water makes me cringe/laugh.
high fructose corn syrup: 55% fructose, 45% glucode
table sugar: 50% fructose, 50% glucose
yep, huge difference there.
Yes, bottled water is a real WTF. For people who live in first-world countries with proper sanitation and water treatment, it makes no sense whatsoever to buy bottled water. Plus all those plastic bottles are terrible for the environment.
Maybe if you had bottled water, you'd drink it instead of coke and other nasty things.
Despite popular belief, tap water, even with a Britta, is nothing like bottled water which is actually nice to drink.
Bullshit.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH...
http://www.today.com/food/your...
http://www.allaboutwater.org/t...
https://youtu.be/saSgpX186MM
In many cases, bottled water is coming from a municipal water source. It's treated and filtered the same way all municipal water is. About the only thing that happens is that the companies sometimes re-introduce minerals to enhance the flavor.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
This.
I'm a militant anti-smoker. I hate it, I avoid places that still allow smoking, and if they do so in break of current anti-smoking legislation, I bring them to the attention of authorities. I've never had a smoking GF and crossed off many potential candidates from the list because of their addiction.
All that said, you can smoke all you want, for all I care, and slowly kill yourself, if you find a way to do it without affecting anyone else who didn't consent to being gassed.
Drinking soda might be unhealthy, but it's not smelly, it doesn't turn people into nervous wrecks if they haven't had one for a day and it doesn't force itself on people around you. I can't tell if someone drank a coke in a room when I come in one hour later. I can tell if someone smoked in their car even if they stopped half a year ago and gave it a very solid cleansing. I can smell if one person is smoking somewhere in the same room in a public space. If you know anything about biology, you understand that if you can smell it, it means toxic levels are reached and the stink is your bodies way of telling you to get the hell out of there.
Drinking soda isn't the "new smoking". The two things are not even on the same level.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org