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Columbia Missourian

LETTER: Colorado right to ban soda in public schools

By Derrick Fogle, Columbia
December 16, 2008 | 10:00 a.m. CST

Editor's note: On Friday, we asked readers via Twitter how they felt about the Colorado Board of Education banning the sale of sodas in public schools in that state. Mr. Fogle offered this response:

Soda is probably the second worst thing for a person's health, next to smoking. High-fructose corn syrup, commonly used as a sweetening agent in soda, is linked to an epidemic of childhood obesity as well as dental decay. Caffeine, found in most sodas, is highly addictive. If we're going to give children unfettered access to soda — at home or at school — we might as well give them access to a whole host of other (thankfully) more tightly regulated drugs. Schools have no legitimate reason for allowing global corporations to profit from selling addictive, damaging products to children. Kudos to Colorado for having the guts to do this.

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