Campaign to Stop Killer Coke

Criticism of Coca-Cola dates back to its first ever product, invented by Doctor John Stith-Pemberton in 1886. The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most renowned beverage companies in the world. It owns the majority of the soft drink market around the world, distributing roughly 160 different products. According to Forbes Magazine, Coca-Cola is one of the world's most innovative companies with a net worth of 192.8 billion. Since the early 2000s, the criticisms over the use of Coca-Cola products as well as the company itself, escalated with concerns over health effects, environmental issues, animal testing, economic business practices and employee issues. The Coca-Cola Company has been faced with multiple lawsuits concerning the various criticisms.

John Stith-Pemberton, was an American Pharmacist and the founder of Coca-Cola. Born in Crawford County, GA on January 8, 1831, Pemberton was considered "the most noted physician Atlanta ever had" by Atlanta newspapers. Pemberton graduated and received his medical license in 1850 from the Southern Botanico Medical College of Georgia and shortly after studied to become a pharmacist. This led to the opening of his practice where he began to experiment with products such as medicinal wine.

In 1866, Doctor John Stith-Pemberton, started experimenting with opium-free drugs in attempts to cure his morphine addiction due to an injury he sustained while fighting in the Civil War in April 1865. He later created a product he called French Wine Coca, which he admitted was an imitation but a better version of then popular Vin Mariani by Parisian chemist Angelo Mariani. Pemberton’s French Wine Coca was composed of 3 main ingredients. Pemberton’s advertisement read " the medical virtues of the Erythroxylon Coca plant of Peru, South America — African Cola Nuts — true Damiana, with pure Grape Wine." The difference between Pemberton’s French Wine Coca and Angelo Mariani’s Vin Mariani was that Pemberton’s French Wine Coca was made of two additional ingredients that Vin Mariani did not have. Vin Mariani was simply made with Bordeaux wine and coca leaves. Pemberton’s French Wine Coca quickly became very popular until a vote by the state legislature Atlanta and Fulton County in favour of the national temperance movement.

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