[Sidders]

Yes. Surely if there were two similar people and one of them drank a large amount of Diet Coke and the other one drank an equal amount of Coca Cola, the one who drank the Coca Cola would come off worse...?

[MK Chris]

It might not contain as much sugar, but it's got plenty of sugar alternatives, which are equally as bad for you. Diet Coke is an absolute con, it's a wonder they're allowed to call it 'Diet'.

Take a look at this.

[Yudster]

Yes. Surely if there were two similar people and one of them drank a large amount of Diet Coke and the other one drank an equal amount of Coca Cola, the one who drank the Coca Cola would come off worse...?

The one who drank the "fat" coke might be.....fat, but fat isn't the only thing that'll kill you.

[Walter Sobchak]

[saracsm]Ah, but we must obey the media and declare war on fat people!
Doesn't matter if people (especially models and actresses) are too thin, and may suffer with more problems than your average overweight person, doesn't matter about the problems with Aspartame (I believe it was banned in the usa until Ronald Reagan allowed it to be introduced, hmmm?!?!)

[Yudster]

[saracsm]Ah, but we must obey the media and declare war on fat people!
Doesn't matter if people (especially models and actresses) are too thin, and may suffer with more problems than your average overweight person, doesn't matter about the problems with Aspartame (I believe it was banned in the usa until Ronald Reagan allowed it to be introduced, hmmm?!?!)

Absolutely. I have a 14 year old daughter who is constantly bombarded on one side by the media telling her she eats nothing but junk (she doesn't), that all kids are obese (she isn't, she is very slim - naturally so), that she doesn't get enough excercise (she does), and that being fat will kill her and on the other side the media telling her that thin people are all anorexic, bulimic and/or on drugs so being thin is evil. Thankfully she has the sense not to base her life decisions on what she sees in magazines or on television, be it images of models or the rantings of the latest Fat Children Watchdog, so she is ok - but there are plenty who aren't. Is it any wonder kids seem to make bad decisions?!

[Boboff]

Diet Coke, Coke Zero & Pepsi Max are all lovely, and not girly at all, You feel good going into the chippy and asking for Double Battered Sausage, chips, Pickled Onions, Gravy and a faggot, ow and by the way a diet coke please, Thanks

Apparently the switch away from carbonated drinks to more healthy options is really getting to Coke, with a market this size a 5% reduction in sales is like 10 factories or something closing down.

Coke do poorly in the non Carbonated sector, and don't have a water brand, like kellogs who don't have a succesful Hot Breakfast ceral in there portfolio.

Mazin

[MK Chris]

Coke did have a water brand, but had to withdraw it.

[Andy B]

Random note, but my dad did a contract for a Coke, bottling plant down in South America where they had to re-tarmac the driveway every 2 years because of all the coke bottles that broke....not beacuase of the glass but the acid in all the coke was eating the tarmac away. He says that whenever he went to lunch with the bosses, they all drank coke but strictly only Diet Coke, that probably says something but i'm not sure what.

[Boboff]

Boboff, your full of interesting information.

I have heard it called many things.... any way I am off for an interesting information dump

[Yudster]

I'm going to start a Boboff Appreciation Society. Fowler123 you'll join won't you? Won't you? Aw, pleease.........oh well, just me then. I'll be a stalker. Always wanted to try that.

[Walter Sobchak]

Coke did have a water brand, but had to withdraw it.

Was cokes water brand just tap water that had been filtered a few more times then bottled.

Yes, it was tap water...... I think the guy in charge of it was from Peckham?!?

[Adam]

Coke Zero anyone?

[Yudster]

Isn't Dasani Cokes water brand? Its massive in the States. Why isn't it on sale here? Does it not meet UK wetness standards or something? Not that I'd buy it, the stuff in the tap is fine for me.

[MK Chris]

Coke did have a water brand, but had to withdraw it.

Was cokes water brand just tap water that had been filtered a few more times then bottled.

Yes, it was tap water...... I think the guy in charge of it was from Peckham?!?

Haha Peckham Spring... Quality.

Isn't Dasani Cokes water brand? Its massive in the States. Why isn't it on sale here? Does it not meet UK wetness standards or something? Not that I'd buy it, the stuff in the tap is fine for me.

That's the one - there was a big thing about it in the news.

[Adam]

Isn't Dasani Cokes water brand? Its massive in the States. Why isn't it on sale here? Does it not meet UK wetness standards or something? Not that I'd buy it, the stuff in the tap is fine for me.

Dasani was launched in the UK in January 2004.

.[size=9][Dasani was launched in the UK in January 2004.

In March 2004, it became public through an article in The Independent newspaper that the tap water of Sidcup was being treated, bottled and sold under the Dasani brand name in the UK. Although Coca-Cola never implied that the water was being sourced from a spring or other natural source, they marketed it as being especially "pure". Hence, the public revelation of it being simply treated tap water caused a media stir.

The media made mocking parallels with a popular episode of the well-known BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses in which the protagonist Del Boy attempts to pass off tap water as spring water. This scheme fails when the local reservoir becomes polluted causing the bottled water to glow yellow. The episode is believed to have contributed to the severe negative reaction to Dasani by the press and public. Clips from this episode were shown in news reports and other programmes relating to the Dasani flop.

Two weeks later, UK authorities found a concentration of bromate in the product that could be considered harmful if drunk in large quantities. Dasani was potentially carcinogenic. Coca-Cola recalled half a million bottles and pulled the "Dasani" brand from the UK market on March 19, 2004.[1] Shortly after, plans to introduce the brand on Continental Europe were announced to have been cancelled as well. Ironically, bromate was not present in the tap water before Coca-Cola's "purification" produced it from the tap water's harmless bromide.

Coca-Cola added calcium chloride to Dasani in the UK to meet laws requiring calcium in all bottled waters. The company claims that the amount of bromide in the water led to the formation of unacceptable levels of bromate during the ozonation process used in purification. The U.S. version of Dasani does not contain calcium chloride.

In 2004 the Ig Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to The Coca-Cola Company for "using advanced technology to convert liquid from the River Thames into Dasani, which for precautionary reasons has been made unavailable to consumers".

The withdrawal of the product and the resulting PR disaster has been likened to the New Coke fiasco. Dasani never made it to Ireland or Northern Ireland, as Coca-Cola Bottlers (Ulster) produce the Deep River Rock brand of water for sale in the island.

[Adam]

^stolen from wikipedia.

[Yudster]

Now I understand! But what I DON'T understand is why they buy it in such huge quantities in the States? It's almost enough to make me think that Americans are all stupid or something.

[kendra k]

it's true yudster. i think bottled water is bought in such huge quantities here because is because marketing works and we're lazy. i know some people who think that bottled water tastes better. (i think it's actually less tasty- give me minerals!) in some areas the water is super metalic and sick, so i can sort of understand bottled water. our water's ok, but i prefer to use a filter in the fridge. i got used to that after my mom switched the family to filtered water because chemo made her taste buds messed up.

sometimes people buy water because it's convienent to have in the little bottle. i used to buy a bottle once a month mostly for the bottle. now i just use my same water bottle all the time. still though, if i'm thirsty and i can't find a cool fountain i might splurge and buy water. i know i'm being an idiot though. i won't pay more than a buck for it, unlike the idiots who shill out $3.50 for a small bottle of water at the baseball game. talk about robbery.

dassani=coke aquafina=pepsi.

[Yudster]

I knew you were IN America Kendra, but I always thought you were not American - am I wrong?! And if so, I know WHY I thought that.........

[kendra k]

no idea how you thought i wasn't american. i used to be pretty self-loathing about it, but after spending 6 months in europe, i've accepted it. i was born and raised in california, which is really a great place, so i shouldn't moan about it.

did you think i wasn't american cos i post here? totally plausible.

[MK Chris]

I think possibly because you have a level head.

[Yudster]

Yes, that - and a variety of opinion about matters which affect the world beyond the United States - a mindset not particularly encouraged by American society or their media.

Which part of California? I have a friend who is always going on about how he was brought up in Carmel. It sounds amazing, but he does go on.....!

[kaykay2]

diet coke is a waste of time u dont get the same taste, but i find coke bloats me up, so i am a big dr pepper fan or coke with cherry

[kendra k]

yeah for dr pepper!!! the hardest thing about living in germany was how scarce dr pepper was. when i did find it, it was too expensive!

yudster- i grew up in a suburb of sacramento (state capitol) and now live in the sf bay area. i'm not a huge fan of southern california, but carmel is very nice.