Soft Drinks

You want a Coke at 30,000 feet? It's going to cost you $2. US Airways yesterday became the first major airline to announce that it would charge for soft drinks, among other sweeping initiatives that include layoffs, to offset spiraling fuel costs. The region's dominant airline, which transports two-thirds of the passengers at Philadelphia International Airport, also followed the lead of American and United Airlines in charging $15 for a first checked bag. US Airways said it would cut domestic capacity - seats and flights - 6 percent to 8 percent this year and next.

South Philly produce wholesalers meet this week to review a move from the crowded Food Distribution Center to a proposed $200 million Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, on a site developer Brian O'Neill controls at 6700 Essington Ave. near Philadelphia International Airport. "That's their plan. We don't know when we're going to break ground," said James Storey, head of Quaker City Produce Co. and a leader of the wholesalers. There's no deal yet, said John Estey, chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, which would become the market's landlord.

After watching a bevy of Sixers Dancers autograph posters, a guy named Mike made his way back to his father, uncle and brother-in-law in Finnigan's Wake, a pub inside the Wachovia Center. Did he ogle the Sixers Dancers up close and personal? "I did," said Mike, grinning without a hint of guilt. "I'm not married so I can. " Somewhere, 76ers marketing executives were likely grinning as well. It didn't hurt that the team blew out the Milwaukee Bucks by 112-69 on Wednesday night.

When small amounts of benzene, a known cancer-causing chemical, were found in some soft drinks 16 years ago, the Food and Drug Administration never told the public. That is because the beverage industry told the government it would handle the problem and the FDA thought the problem was solved. A decade and a half later, benzene has turned up again. The FDA has found levels in some soft drinks higher than what it found in 1990, and two to four times higher than what is considered safe for drinking water.

Last week, three major beverage manufacturers announced that they would voluntarily eliminate the sale of soft drinks in elementary schools and substantially reduce sales in middle schools. This is an important and long-overdue first step, but it does little to change the stranglehold that soft-drink makers have in our nation's high schools. The industry is now able to sell its sugary, carbonated drinks in more than 90 percent of our public high schools. Now it says it will limit these drinks to not more than 50 percent of its total selections in high school.

The size of our sodas may be weighing us down, but there is some good news for our waistlines: We're not drinking as many gallons a year as we used to. A report last week noted a historic reversal in soft-drink fortunes since 1998, when individual consumption averaged 56 gallons a year. In 2004, the figure fell 7 percent, to 52 gallons. "There is a ray of hope," said Michael Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, who wrote the report.

Juvenile obesity may begin at home, but thousands of U.S. schools have signed contracts that feed the growing problem. Over half of all high schools and junior high schools nationwide have struck deals with soft-drink companies or vendors, giving them exclusive marketing rights to their students, according to the Institute of Medicine, a health-policy adviser to Congress. In exchange, the schools often get five- or six-figure payments that cover benefits their budgets don't, such as SAT test fees for low-income students, new scoreboards, uniforms and even proms.

Many Americans complain about getting government out of their bedrooms, their paychecks, and their private lives. Let me add my voice to the chorus by saying, "Let's keep the government out of my lunch. " In banning the sale of soft drinks before and during school hours, the Downingtown Area school board is taking on an issue that should be left to parents and children to resolve. The issue was brought before the board by a group of crusading parents who compared Pepsico to Phillip Morris, and contended that soda causes cancer of the esophagus.

Congratulations to the school board, families and administrators of the Downingtown Area School District for their courageous agreement earlier this month that will ban the sale of soft drinks before and during school hours. In the national debate about schools' role in this issue, I join others in emphasizing that this is not about curbing choices or hindering revenue generation. Rather, the goal is to improve the health of our children and ultimately our society by helping young people develop better eating and drinking habits.