A year after people began calling Diet Coke a “fridge cigarette” online, Coca-Cola CEO Henrique Braun says the company is comfortable letting consumers use their own nickname. What matters, he said in a recent interview, is that Coca-Cola doesn’t present the drink that way. The company instead sees it as a good-tasting product with a distinctive connection to consumers.
Braun also pointed to Coca-Cola’s growing use of digital tools and AI to communicate with customers, saying the company is optimistic about its growth prospects. He didn’t directly connect those efforts to the nickname.
Diet Coke’s sales have been climbing. Coca-Cola’s quarterly report, released Oct. 27, showed global sales volume for Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light rose 6% in the third quarter of 2026, with gains in North America and Asia Pacific. Volume was also up 6% in the first quarter and 7% in the second, after remaining flat globally in 2025.
The nickname has also prompted discussion about why people reach for the drink. Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert has said its crisp sound, fizz and cold temperature can provide a quick, familiar sense of stimulation or relief, especially during stressful parts of the day.
Alpert described Diet Coke as something that can serve as an emotional substitute, while cautioning that relying on it to cope with anxiety, curb appetite or avoid discomfort may encourage unhealthy patterns. Choosing soda over cigarettes is healthier, he noted, but that doesn’t make the habit entirely without concern.
Naturopathic doctor Debra Muth has raised concerns about artificial sweeteners and the brain’s reward system. She argued that both nicotine and Diet Coke can affect dopamine pathways, and cautioned that replacing cigarettes with soda may simply swap one habit for another.
Muth suggested supporting the brain’s reward system through balanced blood sugar, stress management and nutrients such as L-tyrosine, which the body uses to produce dopamine.
