Tahlequah's pop-sale ban is part of trend

By Anthony Thornton

Published: January 11, 2004

TAHLEQUAH -- With no fear of reprisal, high school senior Holly Bell unzipped her backpack in the principal's office, pulled out a Diet Pepsi and began sipping.

Soft drinks in America Soft drink consumption by children rose 40 percent between 1989 and 1996. Boys drink an average of 800 12-ounce cans of pop per year. Girls drink slightly fewer. To burn off the calories of a 20-ounce bottle of pop, a child would have to bicycle 75 minutes. In 2001, Americans spent more than $61 billion on soft drinks. Twenty years ago, boys consumed twice as much milk as soft drinks, and girls consumed 50 percent more milk than soft drinks. Now, boys and girls consume twice as much soda as milk. Sources: U.S. Agriculture Department and the Center for Science in the Public Interest

The can had lost a bit of its chill during the five hours it sat in her backpack, but that didn't matter. It satisfied the office aide's early afternoon craving.

Used to be, Bell could have just plugged a couple of quarters into one of Tahlequah High School's numerous vending machines for the same result.

But no more. For nearly 15 months now, the district's vending machines -- at least those available to students -- have been soda pop-free. The action has earned complaints from students but accolades from an Oklahoma hospital chain, which mentioned the policy last week in a newspaper ad aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

The school district's policy was the brainchild of local dentist Matt Walker, who had noticed an alarming increase in tooth decay among his teen-age patients.

Attributing it to the acid and sugar in soft drinks, Walker shared his concern with his main dental hardware supplier, John Coons, a Tahlequah School Board member.

Their discussion led to other health concerns related to soft drinks: caffeine, obesity and diabetes (65 percent of the city's students are American Indians, a group many consider at high risk for developing diabetes).

Coons presented the case against Cokes in October 2002, and with no fanfare and little debate, the school board removed soft drinks from machines in Tahlequah's high school and junior high.

Soda pop The soft drink industry produced 15 billion gallons of soft drinks in 2001, twice as much as in 1974. In 12- to 19-year-olds, soft drinks provide 9 percent of boys' calories and 8 percent of girls' calories. Those percentages are triple (boys) or double (girls) what they were in 1977-78. Sources: U.S. Agriculture Department and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Though it is believed to be the first such policy in Oklahoma, Tahlequah's action is part of a growing trend:

California's Legislature recently banned soft drinks from vending machines in elementary and junior high campuses. The Oakland School Board went even further, imposing a total ban on soda and candy sales.

Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged schools to restrict soft drink sales.

Canada's soft drink makers announced Wednesday they will stop selling their product in the country's elementary and middle schools.

In Oklahoma, a Senate committee last year killed a bill that would have removed vending machine soft drinks and certain snacks from elementary schools.

Big bucks at stake
The Tahlequah decision wasn't without consequences.

A few years ago, as exclusive soft drink contracts became the rage nationwide, the Tahlequah School District signed one with Coca-Cola guaranteeing the district $100,000 a year. The money paid for field trips and other student activities.

Superintendent Paul Hurst figures the policy cost the district $70,000 last year. This year's loss, he said, will be about half that because students have adapted, buying bottled water, fruit juice and milk more frequently. Additional fund-raisers also have mitigated the loss.

The school board expected a financial hit, but that wasn't the primary concern, he said.

"We know the indications are from the medical community that these things are bad, so why would we continue to do this if we know it's harmful?" Hurst said.

Not all educators agree.

"There are many things that are noble that fly in the face of practicality. And practicality is this: If a kid wants a soft drink, and he has his parents' permission ... " said John Hamill, Tulsa Public Schools spokesman.

By agreeing to sell Pepsi products exclusively, Tulsa schools receive about $1 million a year, Hamill said.

Oklahoma City schools last year signed a $4 million, five-year contract with Coca-Cola. Most of the money benefits arts and athletic programs.

Alex Molnar, head of Arizona State University's Commercialism in Education Research Unit, calls such contracts "a bargain with the devil."

Compared to a school's overall budget, he said, "The amount of money from these contracts is not that great, and compared to the harm that can be done, it's very small indeed."

Hamill considers that an exaggeration.

"Should the school be purveying them? That's up to each school board member to answer. ... But will this end tooth decay and obesity? Don't make me laugh," he said.

Echoing that sentiment is the National Soft Drink Association, which says its products are less to blame for adolescent obesity than lack of exercise.

In a prepared statement, the association said it supports the right of local schools to choose what products to dispense from their vending machines.

The state Education Department doesn't monitor soft drink contracts with schools, nor does it regulate what schools do with the money, an agency spokeswoman said.

State Superintendent Sandy Garrett didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

In Tahlequah, the current policy is far from a final stand, Hurst said. Next to go could be the sweetened fruit juices that replaced sodas, or perhaps the snack machines that sell chips and candy.

What advice would Hurst offer other districts making money from soft drink contracts?

"I would encourage them to realize that there are other ways of raising money that don't involve putting kids in harm's way."

Responses vary
Students and faculty members alike joke about the "black market" that has resulted at Tahlequah High School.

"We haven't made soft drinks contraband," said Hurst, the superintendent. "But there have been thousands of dollars made by students selling them in the parking lot, and we've had to get onto them about that."

Senior David Castro said he's content with the fruit juices now offered but admits he's in the minority.

The complaints have subsided since last school year, he said, "but if you asked most kids here to list what they don't like about high school, that (the soft drink policy) would be on the list."

Some high schoolers consider the policy hypocritical. After all, there's a Coke machine in the teachers' lounge. And sodas are sold at school athletic events and weekly fund-raisers.

Castro said he appreciates the administration's desire to churn out healthy students. "But I thought high school was where we were supposed to start making our own choices."

Hurst said it's too early to determine the overall impact of Tahlequah's policy.

"But I think in our minds, we're doing the right thing."