Ads for Aspartame

By Quinn Phillips Here at Diabetes Flashpoints, we have often discussed controversies related to certain sweeteners, as well as sugar. Sugar, particularly when used in soft drinks, is widely believed to be a major contributing factor to the epidemic of obesity in the United States, while certain other sweeteners are suspected of playing a role in obesity — under the theory that they make people hungry — as well as a host of other health conditions. Since they rely so heavily on all types of sweeteners, beverage manufacturers have been particularly hurt by the growing suspicion of some sweeteners. According to a USA Today article published last week, last year the sales volume of Coca Cola fell by 1%, while sales of Diet Coke fell 3%. These numbers may not seem large, but for an industry accustomed to expanding its market and attracting new customers — and maintaining a large base of loyal product users — any drop in sales is cause for alarm. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that Coca Cola has now responded by creating an ad to defend its use of the sweetener aspartame. As outlined in the USA Today article, a print ad headlined "Quality Products You Can Always Feel Good About" will run this week in that newspaper's Atlanta-area edition as well as in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Chicago Tribune. Found in Diet Coke and many other diet sodas, aspartame has been on the US market since 1981 and is one of the most thoroughly studied food addi...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs