To think we should be allowed two cokes as part of the Nando’s bottomless drink deal?

[NameChanger203]

It’s now illegal. Surely people can make their own mind up.
as an occasional treat of course - DH doesn’t drink diet drinks as prefers to just have normal sugar to artificial sweeteners. He’s healthy weight and, exercise regularly and eats well most of the time

im a bit overweight and prefer Diet Coke.

we went to Nando’s today (DS’s (8) choice) as birthday weekend) - and both got soft drinks which come as bottomless - with extra hot chicken.

It seems unfair that I could have refilled 10 times with Diet Coke if I wanted, but DH couldn’t refill a second coke as no longer legal.

This. If you want a second coke buy one. If someone was drinking bottomless coke they could easily exceed the calories in the food with what they consume in liquid form.

I didn't know this. It must be recent. It's outrageous. I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners and would rather drink water. I can no longer drink pepsi, since even the non diet version has had some of the sugar replaced by sweeteners. Same with fanta and san pellegrino, and irn bru. So the only soft drink remaining for me is coke. Some places only have diet drinks and it can be very limiting. About a yr ago I was in a restaurant like that. They had run out of bottled water and I was driving so couldn't have wine. I had tap water, but it was horrible, obviously unfiltered. I'm not overweight and it all feels like insanity.

Could he not drink diet coke on these occasions, given the closesness in taste

But they taste completely different. Diet Coke is disgusting and I can immediately tell and don’t want to drink it.

It’s not the government making it illegal. It’s Nando’s removing an item from a bottomless drinks promotion. They could add the extra tax into the cost if they wanted. 🤷🏻‍♀️ They just don’t, because there will be a reason it’s better for this big profit making multinational corporation to not do so. No one is going to stop you paying for 2 drinks, like you would at the pub. And no one is going to stop you swapping drinks, so he gets you a Diet Coke and you get him a full sugar one.

There isn't a closeness in taste. I can't stand the taste of diet drinks.

I don’t know about OPs DH but I couldn’t drink Diet Coke on ANY occasion. I don’t enjoy the taste (it is very different) and I especially don’t enjoy the explosive diarrhoea that I get if I have artificial sweeteners! Unfortunately they are in so many soft drinks now that I just drink more wine and beer!

But they did add the tax to the price. Since the sugar tax refillable proper coke has been more expensive. I hope they're not now charging the same when you can't refill.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/new-law-england-restaurants-free-32613312.amp

I'm with you. Diet coke is vile.

Obviously it isn't illegal to have two cokes 🙄

Nandos are no longer allowed to include drinks with added sugar in promotional deals, which a bottomless drink deal is considered to be. You can pay for a second full sugar coke, you just can't have it for free. Or you could just refill it and clearly no one would care, as Nandos are obviously doing the absolute minimum to comply by putting up a sign.

The bit I find quite bizarre in the new regulations about this is that it explicitly excludes alcoholic drinks - you can still have deals on them, no matter how much added sugar they have. That has got to have taken a lot of lobbying from the alcohol industry!

Absolutely ridiculous. I cant stand artificial sweeteners on drink. Asoartame makes me ill with migraine and heart palpitations. I only drink full sugar drinks, and not that often so if im out for a meal I would be furious as a grown adult being policed on my drinking habits.

I can barely tell the difference

It’s not illegal to have two Coke, but you can’t get them as free refills under the new government laws that banned unlimited refills of full-sugar drinks, a measure to tackle obesity. Instead, you can only have one glass of full-sugar Coke as part of the bottomless offer and then switch to a sugar-free option for free refills, or you can purchase additional full-sugar Cokes at the standard price

Personally I find diet coke absolutely revolting. What does it even taste like? I'm not too sure but it's nothing pleasant. People get hooked on the stuff too...what do they put in it?

It's ridiculous. I go to pizza hut or cosmo once every 6 months or so. I like being able to have as many soft drinks as I want without paying extra, it's only occasionally. I usually have 3/4 of the glass filled with ice anyway, I love an icy fizzy drink.

Me too. There have been times when I've wanted coke but have ended up with wine or beer, but one time when driving had fairly awful tap water - still better than diet drinks, thougu.

Making things forbidden fruit can only end one way!

This enrages me tbh. Absolute petty micro managing that no one gives a shit about! My ADULT DS cannot stand the taste of sweeteners and always has normal coke. We will not adhere to it. I’ll just make sure that I get red coke when he is ready for his second drink which he will then drink after he has drunk his own first glass.

He could have had yours.

i agree it's a silly policy. As a nation we are so hyped up about obesity we have forgotten that some people need calories.

When my 80 yo mum was in hospital with no appetite the only thing she wanted to drink was cold coke. To her, as a health conscious, budget strapped, war baby and then thrifty adult it was novel and exciting. It had the benefit of the sugar and caffeine boosting her energy levels and also being (to her) a glamorous and delicious treat.

Sadly the NHS guidelines meant none of the shops or cafes onsite in the hospital were allowed to sell full sugar drinks, only diet drinks . We had to go off site to buy what she needed.

There are similar problems at our local mental health unit. Despite a significant number of their patients being anorexic and so needing all the help they can get with calorie loading and developing normal eating patterns the 'healthy' choices they are offered are 0 calorie, reinforcing their mindset that the lower the calorie count the better.

And don't get me started on calorie counts on menus. My daughter is a recovering anorexic and she doesn't need any reminders of what she might be consuming. She just needs to look at a menu and choose what she fancies/what her body needs.

Its a joke isnt it. Even Calpol has succumbed to the sugar shit. I remember as a child we LOVED it!! Now all my children, and everyone else's that im aware of, hate it, and i can only assume its because of the swap from sugar to sweeteners. Because when your kids temp is pushing 40° the most important thing that matters is fucking sugar 🙄!!!

The double standards remind me of in the covid days when we could get a maccys but not go to the gym. Make it make sense!!!!!!!!!!!

My dp also wont drink diet energy drinks, only full sugar, but he won't drink plain water only squash..which is artificial sweeteners?! Make it make sense 😂!

You can’t have bottomless coke with sugar in but you can have bottomless ice cream and other sugar laden desserts. I’m not sure why they’re targeting drinks

I love Diet Coke, love it! It’s making me smile reading all the hate on here for it 😁. I know immediately when I am given normal coke, I find it sickly, sugary and cloying and cannot drink it. They taste completely different.

I have tried and failed so many times to explain to dp that his digestive issues are related to him drinking squash over water!!!!!! Argh!