58 minutes ago
3
There's nothing quite like cracking open an ice-cold Diet Coke in the middle of the day. Or, as younger generations have taken to calling it, enjoying a lil' "fridge cigarette."
For the uninitiated, the nickname refers to the ritual of grabbing a cold, refreshing soda — commonly a Diet Coke — as a little pick-me-up or moment of relaxation, much like a cigarette break. Except, you know, without the actual cigarette.
Bravo / Getty Images
The phrase took off in June 2025 after TikTok creator Rachel Reno (@reallyrachelreno) posted a video of herself cracking open a Diet Coke and enjoying it outdoors, set to Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer."
In the video's text overlay she wrote, "overheard someone call Diet Coke a 'fridge cigarette' and nothing's been more true to me since." Reno captioned the clip, "Time for a crispy ciggy in the summer."
DUTCH/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images
It quickly racked up millions of views (currently sitting at nearly 4 million), with other Diet Coke fans embracing the comparison and sharing their own fridge-ciggy rituals.
The term became so popular that it even earned an entry in Merriam-Webster's slang dictionary, which defines it as "a cold soft drink that one enjoys as an addictive treat," clarifying that the word "addictive" is being used "in the nontechnical sense."
Even the New York Times covered the phenomenon in June 2025. Speaking to the publication, Reno explained why she thought the metaphor resonated with so many people, likening the sound of opening a soda can to lighting a cigarette, with the first sip taking the edge off and making "all the worries and cares in the world go away."
Craig Barritt / Getty Images
And while the internet has enthusiastically embraced Diet Coke's new identity, the company's CEO doesn't seem quite as thrilled.
Bloomberg / Getty Images
Henrique Braun, who took over as Coca-Cola's CEO in March 2026, was asked about the viral nickname during an Oct. 27 interview with Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma.
"Consumers call it … the way they want to call it," Braun said. He explained that Coca-Cola as a company doesn't position Diet Coke that way, instead focusing on the drink's taste.
"The most important thing to us is that we don't position Diet Coke in that way [as a fridge cigarette]," he said. "What we do is that it's a great-tasting product which connects with the consumer in a very unique way."
Derek White / Getty Images
"We've seen that with our engagement with consumers end to end from social media all the way down to transactions," he finished.
Bloomberg / Getty Images
While Braun might not be rushing to adopt the cigarette moniker, the company probably isn't complaining about the popularity of Diet Coke. According to Coca-Cola's third-quarter earnings report, released on Oct. 27, global sales volume for Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Light grew 6% compared with the same period in 2025, driven by growth in North America and Asia Pacific.
Smith Collection/Gado / Getty Images
Strangely enough, this isn't the first time Coca-Cola has found itself associated with cigarettes. Back in July, the company unveiled a "new global brand identity" redesign feature that included a tall, serifed font that many on social media thought looked suspiciously similar to the font used by Marlboro cigarettes.
"When we joke about calling a crispy Diet Coke a fridge cig we didn’t mean rebrand coke to Marlboro jfc," wrote one X user.
The "Marlboro font" comparisons didn't end there, with one X user writing, "Love that they just leaned into the fact that soda is the new cigarettes by just straight up doing the Marlboro font," and another adding, "It’s not the same typeface, but it’s too close. A sugar company should not remind people of cigarettes."
"It's not the Marlboro font," an X user pointed out, including an image comparing the two fonts. Still...it's pretty similar.
Whatever Coca-Cola thinks of the association, the internet has already made up its mind. Putting that nickname back in the can is easier said than done.
English (US) 