Oh goodness, I know you are so right and I should quit using any of those artificial sweetners. That would be an incredibly hard thing for me to do....harder than quitting smoking I'd bet. I know it's a habit I've gotten myself into, and I have a HUGE weakness for anything sweet....so the thought of drinking PLAIN tea or coffee doesn't sound very appealing at all. I do plan to cut it back to 3 packets a day as suggested by someone else and perhaps I can wean myself off of it altogether....thanks for the reply.