Category: Soft Drink Myths

• The "Coca-Cola" Cocaine Secret

  This theory held that Coca-Cola’s famous secret formula still contained cocaine long after the company claimed to have removed it. The theory drew strength from an important historical fact: the original drink did use coca-leaf derivatives, and cocaine was indeed part of its early formula. When the company later removed active cocaine while retaining coca-derived flavoring, the continued secrecy of the formula made it easy for the public to suspect that the drug had never truly disappeared.