The stats say it has greatly decreased sugar consumption in soft drinks. From my point-of-view (someone who rarely drinks soft drinks) it seems that most soft drinks now mix artificial sweeteners and sugar, so effectively all soft drinks are now "diet" varieties.
It's really annoying. I also drink soft drinks very rarely but if I want, say, tonic water that doesn't taste like crap I need to splash out on a premium product. Other things (e.g. cranberry juice drink) are simply unavailable without artificial sweetener. Reduced salt snacks are also shite. It is hard to find a treat that is still actually a treat.
The stats say it has greatly decreased sugar consumption in soft drinks. From my point-of-view (someone who rarely drinks soft drinks) it seems that most soft drinks now mix artificial sweeteners and sugar, so effectively all soft drinks are now "diet" varieties.