It is easy to argue that soda – the largest single source of excess sugar in the diet of American children – should not be sold in schools, especially at a time when obesity rates are rapidly rising. The hard part is not weaning students off the sugary drink, it is weaning schools off the cash and free merchandise that comes with installing a soda machine in the corridor. But lawmakers need not look beyond the state’s borders to find ways to banish sugar-laden drinks and snacks without punishing schools financially.

School Union 106 in Washington County has been soda free for more than a year. The six schools in Calais, Alexander and Robbinston exchanged the sodas in their vending machines for fruit juices and water. These drinks come from the same companies that sold the soda so the schools got to keep their corporate logo adorned scoreboards. Students even found another benefit: While soda and candy machines can only be turned on before and after school, machines with healthy snacks and drinks can be on all day.

So, when the soda and snack lobbyists argue that getting their products out of schools will only hurt the kids, lawmakers shouldn’t believe them. Members of the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee heard such dire predictions last winter when they first considered LD 104, which would bar the sale of drinks that are 35 percent or more sugar and foods with more than 8 grams of fat per serving. The committee takes up the bill tomorrow in a work session.

They should also not be swayed by the complaint that this bill, sponsored by Rep. Sean Faircloth, does nothing to promote exercise. The bill, backed by health professionals, is part of a five-bill package put together by the Bangor Democrat. Other pieces of legislation deal with the exercise issue.

This bill is about combating obesity while helping schools set an example. Recent studies have found that 13 percent of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, twice the level of the 1970s. A recent study in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet reported that an extra soda per day increases the chance of a child becoming obese by 60 percent, and can add an extra pound to a child’s weight in four weeks if not burned off.

So, lawmakers should cut through the carbonation on this issue and get to the heart of the matter. Taking away easy access to soda and candy is only part of the battle against obesity, but it is an important part. And, it doesn’t have to come at the expense of scoreboards or funds for the student council.