Hating that I Love Diet Coke
I really don’t like to hate. But there is one thing in particular that I just hate that I love. It is: Diet Coke.
I admit, I love Diet Coke. I love the brand. I love sipping it in the afternoon (especially around the 3 o’clock hour); often I even love it with breakfast. I love the Olympics for which they are a sponsor. I love the sound of the can opening. I love the feel of the plastic 20 ounce bottles. I love the red color in the logo. I love it over ice. I could go on and on…
On the other hand, what I hate about Diet Coke is knowing that the ingredients aren’t particularly healthful, though the industry claims they aren’t particularly dangerous either. I hate the claims that Diet Coke can potentially even cause weight gain; that its ingredients affect calcium absorption; and that the articfical sweeteners can have adverse affects in our bodies, though the American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association don’t seem to have any problems with the product. I hate that it is addictive. I hate that it’s an expensive vending machine habit. I hate that I still love it anyway.
At the same time, I have been successful in some self-imposed spans of abstinence, from which I have often relapsed, too. Currently I’m off it again, trying to stay away from sources of caffeine to sleep better.
But then again, considering the movie, “Thank You for Smoking”, I can’t say that I would fight to have the product banned either. That movie nicely supports the message that we all have a choice. That we can’t blame an industry for making profits by offering a product that we can perfectly well choose not to consume.
I could probably write a whole book about the pros and cons of Diet Coke. (If you’d be interested in reading it, just let me know since I’d love to write it.) But for now, I’ll close with the following thought which was sparked by these two articles I just came across:
- “Plain Old Soda Gets a New Pop in a Down Economy” – Time
- “Coca-Cola CFO: Industry must fight soda taxes” – The Boston Globe
Consider this fact: Carbonated beverage sales in the latest 12 months ending May 2010 totalled $18.7 billion. That’s almost as much as BP is putting into its uncapped oil cleanup escrow fund.
That’s a lot of money that we as consumers (collectively) spend in a year for a little bit of enjoyment.
So….what do you hate that you love?
