Decaffeinating America

Most Americans never stop to think of drugs in their soft drinks, except perhaps for the fairly well-known presence of caffeine in various colas. But caffeine actually is found in about 70 percent of American soft drinks, including some of the citrus types where few would expect it. There is enough in some to bring warnings of developing caffeine dependency in small children.

The good news is that there are anti-caffeine stirrings in the soft drink industry. Caffeine removed from at least one old drink; caffeine kept out of several new ones.

Indeed, why should there be a drug in any soft drink? Here is where government regulation would seem appropriate even during an anti-regulation administration. Meanwhile, applause for those companies that are giving Americans a widened choice in caffeine-free alternatives.