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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 and 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."
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Monday October 05 2015, @12:03AM
I think that part of the problem is that there isn't that much variety in drinks, especially non-alcoholic drinks.
There's water, the big one. Has no taste. The next two biggest are tea and coffee. Tea doesn't have a lot of taste either (depending on the tea, and almost zero adoption in the US anyway). Coffee is bitter (frappucino-likes notwithstanding). Then there's fruit juice and soda. Most of those (frappucino-likes, fruit juice, soda, sweetened tea) are sugar-based, which is what makes them unhealthy and also rots your teeth as a bonus.
So you're left with water, unsweetened tea, and black coffee. Yeah. Oh, there's milk too, I guess.
Solution, legalize underage consumption of alcohol or diluted alcohol?
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(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 05 2015, @12:22AM
Coffee is only bitter when the water was too hot. Try a coffee press with just under boiling water. And stop buying cheap coffee, get some whole beans and a grinder.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Monday October 05 2015, @02:13AM
When I grew up it was milk with every meal. Pretty much everyone I knew did the same (as far as I knew). Soda was a luxury to us kids, only available on rare occasions. I think soda became a bad thing when they started replacing sugar with high fructose corn syrup in most sodas. It also seems the rise in drinking soda and the rise in obesity rates started about that time as well.
(Score: 2) by penguinoid on Monday October 05 2015, @07:24AM
Soda was a luxury to us kids, only available on rare occasions. I think soda became a bad thing when they started replacing sugar with high fructose corn syrup in most sodas.
Nope! High fructose corn syrup is basically the same thing as sucrose, healthwise. Soda became a bad thing when it stopped being a luxury.
RIP Slashdot. Killed by greedy bastards.