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'Diet Coke' (sometimes known as 'Diet Coca-Cola') or 'Coca-Cola Light' (sometimes known as 'Coke Light') is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States on July 9, 1982 as 'Diet Coca-Cola', and was the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook Tab in sales.
Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame as soon as the sweetener became available in the U.S., 1983; however, to save money, this was originally in a blend with saccharin. After Diet Rite cola advertised its 100 percent use of aspartame, and the manufacturer of NutraSweet (then, G.D. Searle & Company) warned that the NutraSweet trademark would not be made available to a blend of sweeteners, Coca-Cola switched the formula to 100 percent NutraSweet, later switching back and doing without the NutraSweet trademark. Diet Coke from fountain dispensers still contains some saccharin (to extend shelf life).^[1]

In other countries, where cyclamates were not banned, as they were in the U.S. and the United Kingdom in 1970, Diet Coke or Coca-Cola Light may be sweetened with a blend containing cyclamates, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium.
In 2005, under pressure from retailer Wal-Mart (which was impressed with the popularity of Splenda sweetener), the company released a new formulation called "Diet Coke sweetened with Splenda." Sucralose and acesulfame potassium replace aspartame in this version. Early sales reports for this version were not quite as strong as anticipated; however, Coca-Cola did little advertising for the brand, investing money and advertising in Coca-Cola Zero instead. The introduction of the Splenda sweetened version of Diet Coke saw complaints to bottlers, as store shelves would often go with very little of the normal version of Diet Coke.
Diet Coke does not utilize a modified form of the Coca-Cola recipe but is instead an entirely different formula. The controversial New Coke, introduced in 1985, used a version of the Diet Coke recipe that contained high fructose corn syrup and had a slightly different balance of ingredients. In 2004 Coca-Cola introduced Coca-Cola C2, which it claims tastes much closer to Coca-Cola but contains half the carbohydrates. In 2006, The Coca-Cola Co. introduced Coca-Cola Zero, a sugar-free variation of regular Coca-Cola.

When Tab was released in 1963, the Coca-Cola Company refused to use the Coca-Cola brandname, fearing that its flagship brand might suffer by being used on another product, the long-term viability of which was uncertain. (Ironically, Tab is still available today, even though vastly outsold by Diet Coke.) Its rival Pepsi had no such qualms, and after the long-term success of its sugar-free brand Diet Pepsi, launched in 1964, became clear, Coca-Cola decided to launch a new sugar-free brand under the Coca-Cola name to compete with Diet Pepsi. With the well-known name, it could be marketed more extensively than the more anonymously dubbed Tab.
Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi have capitalized on the markets of people who require low sugar regimens, such as diabetics and people with other health conditions, athletes, and people who want to lose weight. In the UK, a 330 ml can of Diet Coke contains around 1.3 Calories (5 kilojoules) compared to 142 Calories (595 kJ) for a regular can of Coca-Cola.
Diet Coke is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

Contents

Brand portfolio

Advertising slogans for U.S.A.

Debate over health issues

Ingredients

See also

References

External links

Brand portfolio

Name	Launched	Discontinued	Notes	Picture
Diet Coke	1982		The first version of Coca-Cola without sugar.
Diet Coke Caffeine-Free	1983		A caffeine free version of Diet Coke and the first extension of the Diet Coke formula.
Diet Cherry Coke/Diet Coke Cherry	1986		Available in USA and United Kingdom. Discontinued in Australia and Israel.
Diet Coke with Lemon	2001		Still available in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, Spain, Israel and the United Kingdom. The version sold in Continental Europe utilizes the Coca-Cola Light formula and is generally thought to match much better with the lemon flavoring than the Diet Coke formula.
Diet Vanilla Coke/Diet Coke Vanilla	2002		Still available in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Diet Coke with Lime	2004		Available in Sweden, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Diet Raspberry Coke	June 1, 2005	2006	Available in New Zealand, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda	2005		Available in the USA, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Coca-Cola Zero	2005		In Austria Coca-Cola Zero is the successor of Coca-Cola's Diet Coke. Coca-Cola Zero has an additional label "Neuer Geschmack" ("new taste") and a "0 kcal" symbol to differentiate it from the old diet coke.
Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla	2006	2007	available in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Coca-Cola Light Sango	2005		Only available in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coca-Cola Cherry Zero	2007
Coca-Cola Vanilla Zero	2007
Diet Coke with Citrus Zest	2007		Available in the Bosnia and Herzegovina, and United Kingdom.
Diet Coke Plus	2007		Has vitamins such as Vitamin B6 and B12.

★ In most of Europe, including Germany and Italy, the drink is marketed as 'Coca-Cola Light', but often referred to as 'Cola'. Coca-Cola has tried to discourage the use of this generic term, and commercials refer only to "Coke Light" or "Coca-Cola Light."

★ In France, it is referred as 'Coca Light'.

★ In French-speaking Canada it is called 'Coke Diète'.

★ In Puerto Rico and Spanish-speaking United States it is called 'Coca-Cola de Dieta' (a translation of "Diet Coca-Cola").

★ In Italy, the name 'Diet Coke' was used until the late 1990s.

★ In Latin America, it is called 'Coca-Cola Light'.

★ In many English-influenced non-English markets including Israel, it is called 'Diet Coca-Cola'.

★ In Japan it has been called 'No Calorie Coca-Cola' since April 2007

Advertising slogans for U.S.A.

★ "The time is right" (1982) The band Devo served as spokspersons for just 1982

★ "Just for the taste of it!" (1983)

★ "The one of a kind" (1984)

★ "Just for the taste of it!" (1985)

★ "Taste it all!" (1993)

★ "This Is Refreshment" (1994)

★ "Just for the taste of it!" (1995)

★ "You are what you drink" (1997)

★ "Get the taste of it" (2000)

★ "Live Your Life" (2001)

★ "Do what feels good" (2002)

★ "It's a Diet Coke thing" (2004)

★ "Life is how you take it" (2005)

★ "Light it up!" (2006)

★ "Yours" (2007)

★ "Enjoyment" (2007)

Debate over health issues

The most commonly distributed version of Diet Coke (and majority of beverages using artificial sweeteners) relies on Aspartame, which has been blamed by some scientists and medical professionals for possibly causing serious illnesses (such as cancer, brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma) when consumed in large quantities^[2][3]. One of the chemicals produced by aspartame after ingestion is methanol, which is also used in antifreeze.http://home.howstuffworks.com/question536.htm^[4]
It should be noted that Coca-Cola has now released Diet Coke sweetened with sucralose (also known as Splenda), although it is not as common. See also soft drink controversy.
An article published in ''The Independent'' on May 27 2007 highlights the dangers of sodium benzoate in soft drinks. According to the article, the sodium benzoate combines with the citric acid in the drink to form benzene, a known carcinogen. Also, the sodium benzoate was found to break down mitochondrial DNA in living yeast cells.^[5]
Concerning the Aspartame - large quantities means over 30 cans a day for the rest of your life. [2]
Concerning the combination of sodium benzoate and citric acid, TCCC has reformulated its products so that the risk of forming carcinogens insie of soft drinks is eliminated.

Ingredients

The ingredients in Diet Coke are listed in order of greatest to least amount:

★ Carbonated Water

★ Caramel Color

★ Aspartame

★ Phosphoric Acid

★ Potassium Benzoate (to protect taste)

★ Natural Flavors

★ Citric Acid

★ Caffeine

See also

★ Diet Coke and Mentos eruption - It is possible to cause a sudden high-pressure release of carbon dioxide by inserting multiple Mentos into a container of Diet Coke. ''Mythbusters'' found this is caused because of nucleation as well as certain catalysts in the Diet Coke and Mentos themselves. The phenomenon is described in some detail by the General Chemistry Online! FAQ, which also attributes it to nucleation.^[6]

References

1. [1] Suit Alleges Deceit in Fountain Diet Cola Drinks
2. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/28/health/webmd/main712605.shtml
3. http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/8711/8711.pdf
4. http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0804226.html
5. " Caution: Some soft drinks may seriously harm your health" from ''The Independent''
6. [3] Why Do Mentos Mints Foam When You Drop Them into Soda Pop?

External links

★ Diet Coke official website

★ Coca Cola Commercials & Jingles