Coke to Stop Pushing Kids to Drink ... Coke

Coca-Cola is on a global mission to reform its rep as a contributor to the obesity epidemic: The company today announced it will stop marketing to children under 12 anywhere on the planet, put calorie counts on the front of all its packaging, and offer diet drinks in every market in the world, reports the Wall Street Journal. By "no advertising to children under 12 anywhere in the world" (per its press release), the company means it won't buy advertising that targets audiences comprised of more than 35% kids.

According to its own website, that marketing policy has been in place since 2010 in the US; the Journal indicates that the big deal in today's announcement is that the new approach is a global one. Likewise, calorie counts currently appear on all US cans and bottles; under the new plan, packaging in all of the more than 200 markets Coke is in will get this info. (More Coca-Cola stories.)