As soda declines, energy and diet drinks increase

At least somebody is pointing this out. New York's Attorney General issued subpoenas in July to three firms that make energy drinks, including PepsiCo Inc, seeking information on the companies' marketing and advertising practices, the Wall Street Journal said. Investigators are examining whether the companies overstated the benefits of ingredients in the drink while understating the role of caffeine. Besides Pepsi, maker of AMP, the Attorney General also sent subpoenas to Monster Beverage Corp and Living Essentials LLC, maker of 5-hour Energy drink.

U.S. retail sales of the energy drinks rose 16 percent last year to $8.9 billion, accounting for 12 percent of the carbonated soft drink category, according to Beverage Digest.

The number of U.S. children who drink sugar-free beverages has doubled in the past decade. By 2008, 12.5% of children were drinking artificially-sweetened beverages. That was up from 6% a decade earlier, according to a recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study.