Is drinking soda a sin? More to the point: Is soda a sin in the same league as tobacco and alcohol, two things that are highly taxed specifically because they’re deemed sinful?

In light of current health statistics, many public health experts are saying that soda should indeed be considered a sin. Excessive consumption of soda has been linked to the escalating rise in the incidence of childhood obesity, as well as what used to be known as “adult onset” diabetes. That term isn’t even considered accurate today, because an increasing number of children suffer from it.

There are many reasons for the high levels of American obesity, especially in children. Soda is just one of them. But it’s an important factor – perhaps the most important: experts say that beverages containing sugar are the number one source of calories in the American diet. Government surveys indicate that accounts for seven percent of the average person’s total calories. In children and teenagers, it’s much more: ranging from 10-14 percent. Totally empty calories.

An increasing amount of attention is being paid to the problem by public health officials, professionals and the government. Many schools have already eliminated sugared drinks – a change from the days when schools were courted by soft drink companies with money for programs or supplies.

This month, the Obama administration announced plans to ban candy and sugarsweetened beverages from all schools, launching a campaign that will be led by First Lady Michelle Obama.

The attention is good, but it’s taken too long. As soda became ever cheaper with the development of high-fructose corn syrup, and mega soft-drink corporations launched a marketing tsunami for their products, drinking soda throughout the day became habitual for many Americans. Perhaps not an addiction, like tobacco or alcohol, but definitely a habit. And it’s much more difficult to break a habit than to never start one. In 2000 The American Dental Association Journal reported that “Americans drank more than 53 gallons of soft drinks per person. This surpassed all other beverages, including milk, beer, coffee and water. It is clear that soft drinks have displaced nutritious beverages and foods from the diet.”

Setting aside problematic issues of caffeine and artificial sweeteners, should the consumption of sugar-free soft drinks be encouraged? That may impact obesity levels, but drinking soda routinely creates another health problem that rarely gets mentioned.

Except by dentists like my husband, Peter. For years he’s been warning his patients, our kids, and pretty much anyone who’ll listen about the dangers of excessive soft-drink consumption. When he first started, the response was mostly a lot of yawning.

No one seemed to care much. School districts were getting badly needed money (in some situations amounting to millions of dollars) by signing exclusive contracts with major soft-drink corporations that justified their marketing campaigns by saying that fluid consumption is a good thing. Some school administrators encouraged teachers to allow students to bring soft drinks into classrooms to meet sales targets. There was even a report of a student being suspended for wearing a Coke t-shirt on Pepsi Appreciation Day. The marketing onslaught wasn’t just directed to children, either; and many adults had begun to consume soft drinks through-