Poll: Parents, How Much Post-Halloween Candy Do You Allow?

The average American consumes some 25 pounds of candy each year, spending a total of $2.3 bilion a year on saccharine, according to the National Confectioner’s Association. Everyone loves sweets, but they come with a steep price: cavities, hyperactivity and childhood obesity.

Alarmed at the problem, one Petaluma dentist has launched a program to buy back candy from local kids, giving them money and healthy prizes like scooters and bicycles in exchange for tooth-rotting treats.

will partner with to host its annual Cash4Candy event Tuesday at 660 Third Street in Sonoma, where kids will get $1 for each pound of candy they turn in and qualify to win prizes through a raffle. The event will be held 3-6pm.

"No one is saying kids can't have candy, but they don't need to eat everything they get," says Valerie King, a spokeswoman for the Petaluma Dental Group, run by Dr. Yolanda Mangrum. "Once you eat candy, your immune system plummets, which is dangerous at the beginning of the flu season. We are literally sabotaging our kids by letting them eat candy."

Kids can qualify for the raffle by stopping off at seven Petaluma homes that are located on St. Anne Way, Gilrix Court, Matzen Ranch Circle, Heather Drive, Greenwich Street, Sixth Street (at E) and B Street at 7th Street. Kids will also get toys and other surprises the organizers say will last long after Halloween is over.

Meanwhile, all the returned candy will be donated to the Sonoma State University's chemistry department for a bio-fuel project, and wrappers given to the Waugh School District to creat art with.

How's that for reuse, reduce and recycle?