Deseret News | Non-diet sodas get the boot in most U.S. public schools

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Non-diet sodas get the boot in most U.S. public schools

Wasatch, Ogden districts already offer healthy drinks

By Tiffany Erickson

Deseret News

Published: Wednesday, May 3, 2006 10:22 p.m. MDT

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Luann Elliot, director of child nutrition at the State Office of Education, said most high school students will still be able to go off campus to get sodas but many will buy what is convenient and available in vending machines.

"This is going to send a positive message to the children as to what is a good choice," Elliot said. "If we put (sugar sodas) out there as a choice, then we condone it — if we don't, then we are saying this is something you need to be aware of."

"I don't think anyone should underestimate the influence this agreement will have," said Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Beverage Association. "I think other people are going to want to follow this agreement because it just makes sense."

The agreement should reach an estimated 87 percent of the school drink market, Neely said. Industry giants Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. — all ABA members — agreed to the changes, she said.

The move shouldn't have much effect on the $63 billion beverage industry's bottom line, said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, which compiles extensive data on the industry.

"The sale of sugar-carbonated sodas in schools is a tiny, tiny part of their overall volume," Sicher said. "The impact is more in terms of responsibility and accountability to the consumer."

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School sales of sports drinks, diet sodas and bottled water have been on the rise in recent years, while sugary soft drink purchases by students have been falling, according to an ABA report released in December.

But regular soda, averaging 150 calories a can, is still the most popular drink, accounting for 45 percent of drinks sold in schools nationwide in 2005, according to the report.

"This is a bold step forward in the struggle to help 35 million young people lead healthier lives," former President Bill Clinton said at a news conference. "This one policy can add years and years and years to the lives of a very large number of young people."

Contributing: The Associated Press

E-mail: terickson@desnews.com