Beverage companies are racing to find new sweeteners to drive growth in drinks other than their carbonated soft drinks business, largely a consequence of increasing awareness on health issues.

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There are any number of other and similar soft drinks out there, thousands of new ones launched every year.

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Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the main source of added sugars in the American diet, according to the statement.

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Coca-Cola says it sells more than 1.7 billion servings of beverages every day globally, making it the leader in soft drinks in the world, ahead of other major players like PepsiCo.

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The biggest source of federal revenue throughout the New Deal was the excise tax on beer, cigarettes, soft drinks, chewing gum, radios and other cheap pleasures enjoyed disproportionately by middle class and poor people.

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"Even so, it is not definitive evidence that sugar-sweetened soft drinks increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, other than through their effect on body weight, " he added.

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Like aspirin or soft drinks, they are not subject to age, licensing, or other restrictions.

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