OBJECTIVES: Measure the concentration of artificial sweetener acesulfame K in refreshing non-alcoholic beverages, compare it with the concentration indicated on the labels, and compare it with the maximum permissible concentrations of acesulfame K in soft drinks. Also, the aim of this study is to examine the frequency of beverage consumption, to estimate the average amount of artificial sweetener ingested and to examine the frequency of internet addiction and to assess whether there is a connection between the studied variables. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study conducted during February and March 2022. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: 792 respondents from higher education institutions in Osijek were included in the research. The research was conducted by a questionnaire that respondents filled out online. A modern analytical method, high performance liquid chromatography, was used to determine the concentration of acesulfame K in refreshing nonalcoholic beverages. RESULTS: A total of 319 male and 473 female respondents participated in the survey. The median age was 21.0. 85.7% of respondents consume various refreshing non-alcoholic beverages, most of which are synthetic fruit juices. A total of 38 beverage samples were used to determine acesulfame K concentration, with a median value of 50.1 mg. 60.2% of respondents do not have any type of internet addiction. CONCLUSION: The measured concentrations of acesulfame K in the tested beverages were in accordance with the regulation and none of them was higher than the maximum tolerated dose. Most students consume refreshing non-alcoholic beverages, and the average daily amount of artificial sweetener ingested amounts to 10.0 mg. There is no association between internet addiction and the use of soft drinks (χ2 - test; p = 0.177).