Cancer and Pepsi One are two words that soda drinkers do not want to see linked together. Pepsi One is being questioned whether or not it contains a potentially harmful chemical that might cause cancer. The public has become more conscious about chemicals in food and beverages more so now than ever as many have watched family members and friends succumb to the monster called cancer. The question that comes up often by consumers is why does the government still allow the sale of tobacco and dangerous foods and beverages that have proven to take lives due to the chemicals used to make up certain products. Profit isn’t a good answer, but has to be the only answer. The spotlight is on the soda industry. One soda in particular that is being questioned in causing cancer is Pepsi One.
During the voting polls in California back in 2011, there was huge debate over whether or not food and beverage makers should place a health warning label on products that can expose the public to more than 29 micrograms of 4-Methylimidazole. This chemical is found in artificial coloring to make beverages turn to a brown color. According to the Los Angeles Times, two soda companies are too close for comfort to breaking this rule. One of the products is by a name brand many Americans trust and many have grown up on – Pepsi One. Digging further, the Atlanta Black Star reported a 2011 federal study that this chemical (4-Mel) can be possibly carcinogenic to humans. Pepsi One was tested to have more than the legal amount of 4-Mel. Low levels were found in other big name brand soda companies such as Coke.
When consumers hear the word “possibly” in reference to cancer, it definitely sets off an alarm in some. Soda has been long rumored to be linked to cancer for decades. Soda and tobacco are both big billion-dollar industries, but yet have reputations for potentially causing life-threatening illnesses over long periods of time. The stores stay stocked with these products because they are proven lucrative for any retail store carrying them. Additionally, the chemicals used in both sodas and tobacco products are allegedly addictive to keep consumers returning to spend more money on a habit or strong craving.
Soda gives buyers of all ages a refreshing taste to satisfy their thirst and an extra energy boost to get through the day. Without will power to listen to that alarm ringing in his or her head that was set off when the consumer is in a gas station convention store looking for a quick fix strolling down the soda aisle of refrigerated cool-ready-drink sodas and remembers that study about soda “possibly” causing Cancer, the alarm is silenced by a much stronger urge for immediate satisfaction. The consumer is betting on that word “possibly.”
While some say where there is smoke there is fire, others love soda so much they refuse to buy into any corporate conspiracy theories of causing cancer to the public. Cancer is definitely not something to take lightly. Health is not something to play with or bet on. As Chris Rock stated in his 1996 stand-up comedy Bring The Pain, the money is not in the cure, the money is in the medicine. There are enough reports circulating throughout the masses about the causes of cancer and medicines to contain and live with cancer, but still no cure for this monster. Does soda taste that good?
By Meleika Gardner
Opinion
Sources
Los Angeles Times
Atlanta Black Star
Warning (explicit language)
Bring The Pain
