Carbonated soft drinks in the UK - statistics & facts
Carbonated soft drinks are beverages that contain carbonated water and some mixture of sweetener, and flavoring. Often times, such beverages also contain other ingredients like caffeine and coloring. The soft in soft drinks is to distinguish the beverages as non-alcoholic, in contrast to alcoholic drinks, which are sometimes called hard drinks. Carbonated soft drinks have been around in one form or another since the 17th century when they were originally created in an attempt to mimic naturally occurring spring water. It wasn't until the 18th century that the beverage became widely popular.
