The artificial sweetener Saccharin has been around since the postbellum period. 1950 would see its prevalence in the cola industry in Spain with La Casera – an offering for diabetics.   Soon after, the Royal Crown (RC) Cola started the practice in the US with Diet Rite Cola.  It was marketed to suburban housewives seeking ways to reduce. 

Soon, others would follow suit with Dietetic Dr. Pepper, Tab, Fresca, and Patio.  No longer a stigmatized drink for diabetics, the diet soda industry exploded. 

Artificially sweetened beverages (ASB’s) replaced sugar with saccharin or cyclamate.  Cyclamate was pulled in the 60’s after it was found to be carcinogenic in laboratory animals. Saccharin was pulled in the 80s due to an association with cancer, and Aspartate became the new sweetener.  (The saccharin-cancer theory was debunked in the 90s - that is why you saw Tab return).

The sweetener cyclamate had a demonstrated link to bladder cancer in the lab.  Saccharine had an association with cancer in a statistical analysis.  Note the verbiage.

A 7-year-old study, “Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Stroke, Coronary Artery Disease, and All-Cause Mortality in the Women’s Health Initiative,” was published in the journal Stroke. Data from 90,000 post-menopausal women was analyzed.  4500 participants reported consuming 2 or more ASBs daily.  Their health outcomes were compared with the remainder of the group.   There was a twofold increase in the development of cardiovascular disease in the diet cola drinkers’ group.  This retrospective analysis demonstrated an association, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship.  Intriguing, but further analysis is needed.

February 2023; an article in the journal Nature Medicine, “The Artificial Sweetener Erythritol and Cardiovascular Event Risk,” found its way into popular media.  An analysis of 1200 people yielded results that suggested an increased risk of stroke and heart attack with increased levels of common artificial sweeteners in the bloodstream. Here, there was a demonstrated link in the laboratory setting; Elevated levels of artificial sweeteners in the blood brought about increased activation of clot-forming platelets.