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."

Comments

Re:Better to drink from a leaking garbage bag

[Rei]

Weird to see people complaining about sugar but switching to fruit juice, though. Many if not most fruit juices have a higher sugar concentration than coke.

Now, that's only from the sugar perspective. Caffeine has its good and bad sides, so if one wants to cut down, there's that. Phosphoric acid may or may not have a negative effect on bone density (lower bone density is associated with soda consumption but there's dispute over whether it's the phosphoric acid or just the aforementioned caffeine). Fruit juices have vitamins and minerals that most colas won't. But really, the biggest health issue with colas is the sugar, and one may actually increase their sugar intake by switching to juice.

No, drinking soda != smoking

[Anonymous Coward]

When people drink soda, they don't blow toxic and disgusting smelling fumes into people's walkways, they don't leave butts all over the ground, and they don't return from a smoke break smelling like an ashtray.

Chuck, I'm going with, "No, drinking soda isn't the new smoking."

Re:GOOD GRIEF!

[AthanasiusKircher]

It's also possible to read the ingredients list and make your decision that way. You don't have to do it every time, just identify the brands that say things like "no added sugar"...

Actually NO -- that no longer works. Companies who try to sell you "healthy" foods want to lie to you.

There are all sorts of things that are basically pure sugar that many companies are trying to add into products with "no added sugar."

One of my favorite examples is Chobani's "natural" greek yogurt, with "no added sugar," but which contains large amounts of "evaporated cane juice" (which is... well, a very slightly different processing method to make SUGAR). There have been class action lawsuits over this, but judges have thrown them out.

I mean, it's "juice," so "evaporated cane juice" must be good for you, right? Also on the list of fun ways for companies to say "sugar" in another way on "natural, no sugar added" foods -- "brown rice syrup" or "honey" or "agave nectar." Wow, it's made with "brown rice" -- must be good for me! "Nectar" -- wow, that's like a good fruit juice, no?

No matter that these things are basically 97%+ sugar and the only reason they are added to anything is as a substitute for sugar so that businesses can claim "no sugar added" on their labels and sound "healthier."

Just to be clear -- most flavors of Chobani yogurt contains more sugar per ounce than Coca Cola. That's what a "no sugar added" label gets you these days.

Regulation for thee, not for me

[reemul]

The nannystate regulators who ban soda because of the high calories are curiously prone to carve out exceptions for drinks containing dairy. They're very concerned about the health of those other people drinking cokes from large cups, but not about to start interfering with their own consumption of ridiculously high calorie Starbucks coffee-based concoctions. It's a class based prejudice, the wrong sorts of people can't be trusted to organize their own affairs while us enlightened folks need no restrictions whatever. As always with the leftists, it's about control, not about health.

Re: GOOD GRIEF!

[camg188]

From wikipedia
In 2006, FIJI Water ran an advertisement stating, "The label says Fiji because it's not bottled in Cleveland". This was taken as an insult by the city's water department.[18] The Cleveland Water Department ran tests comparing a bottle of FIJI Water to Cleveland tap water and some other national bottled brands. FIJI Water reportedly contained 6.31 micrograms of arsenic per litre, whereas the tap water of Cleveland contained none.

Re: GOOD GRIEF!

[jellomizer]

There are fringe groups of Environmentalists and Health Nuts, who seem to forget or not realize the advancements we have made over the last couple thousand years in providing clean and much more healthy drinking water. There is a reason why our forefathers drank a lot of beer and hard cider, it was healthier then drinking water. The alcohol which damaged their livers and took decades off their lifespan, was a better option of drinking fresh water which could have microbes that could kill you the next week. Now we had great improvement in water purification technologies so clean drinking water is possible and better for you then alcohol. Which then leads us to the 1920's prohibition, where many people who were employed to serve alcohol either had to work black market, go to a different career, or adapt. Those who adapted, help make things as Malted Milk Shakes, and Soda-Pop and other "Soft" drinks. Where they could use their now clean water to make new drinks which is what they were good at. Now these soft drinks were speciality drinks, were candy not meant for constant consumption, so they were not targeted towards to being part of your daily diet. Then we get to those silly Baby Boomers who never wanted to grow up. So their culture rejected all the stuffy restrictions of their parents and tried to be young and hip. Thus causing them to drink more soda, and avoiding classifying it as kids stuff, then we get to their kids, where they felt it was OK to feed their children this as part of their normal grocery items. So the Gen X got hooked on the taste.

Now, Soda isn't like tobacco where it is an addictive substance, it is much easier to quit the soda habit/substitute it with something else. We Americans have a problem of overdoing things that we like. When we smoke we smoke packs of cigarettes a day not one every few days. When we drink soda it is part of our diet not just a random treat. If we don't like meat then we go full vegan, if we like meat, then we reject all vegetarian meals. When our excess goes out of control, it is easier to blame the product maker, then ourselves for going in excess.