High-caffeine energy drinks to be banned for under-16s

ODN

High-caffeine energy drinks are to be banned for under-16s in England to prevent harm to children's health, the Government has said. The plan will make it illegal to sell energy drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to anyone under 16 across all retailers, including online, in shops, restaurants, cafes and vending machines. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

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00:00Loud, colourful, sweet and easily available.

00:04Too easy, according to doctors, parents and teachers,

00:08concerned about the impact high caffeine energy drinks are having on our children's health.

00:13Now, the government plans to ban the sale of these drinks to under-16s.

00:18Retailers are used to making sure that a whole range of products are sold on an age-appropriate basis,

00:25whether that's things like alcohol and cigarettes,

00:28and would be applying the same principle to high caffeine energy drinks.

00:33And that's because we know that kids who are back to school today,

00:38picking up one of these cans in the shop, will be necking the equivalent of four cans of Coke.

00:42And it impacts on their behaviour and concentration in the classroom,

00:45which is why a majority of teachers want us to act.

00:47It impacts on their sleep, their health and their wellbeing at home,

00:50which is why the overwhelming majority of parents want to act.

00:53It was in our manifesto, so it's a case of promise made, promise kept.

00:57And doing it with retailers rather than two retailers.

01:00Around 100,000 children are thought to consume at least one high caffeine energy drink every day.

01:06And many of these drinks are not just high in caffeine, but high in sugar too,

01:11presenting a challenge to tackling childhood obesity.

01:14Health experts say the impact on children is severe.

01:17These are marketed to improve concentration, to lift energy levels,

01:23but specifically in children, they have developing brains,

01:28they also have smaller bodies than adults,

01:31and so they can be more sensitive to these effects.

01:33And that can lead to poor concentration, increased anxiety, difficulty sleeping,

01:38as well as causing abnormal heart rhythms or potentially worsening heart disease

01:44in people who were born with problems with it.

01:48Lower caffeine soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, are not affected,

01:53and neither are tea and coffee.

01:55However, high caffeine energy drinks, such as Red Bull, Monster, Relentless and Prime,

01:59would all breach the limit.

02:02Lee Marshall suffered a heart attack eight years ago,

02:04following excessive energy drink consumption.

02:07He has tried to educate other adults and children about the health risks

02:10after seeing how easy it was for his young daughter to obtain one.

02:14She got into the car with a big tin of Monster.

02:19I asked her where she got it from.

02:20She said, oh, I get it from the shop there, Dad, we all buy them.

02:24Then I spoke to the school.

02:26The school couldn't do anything.

02:29There was a wear of stuff going on.

02:32I then spoke to a police officer.

02:34There was a maze that there was no regulations or rules around the energy drinks.

02:42Sports people at the council, there was not much they could do with regards

02:46putting restrictions in shops.

02:50Dee Sedani is a shopkeeper in Derbyshire.

02:53He supports the sale ban for under-16s, but questions how it will be enforced.

02:57What ID is valid.

02:59There's no ID scheme for 16-year-olds.

03:02I think in the initial bit, there's going to be the reaction of what's going on.

03:06We're going to get a big kickback there.

03:08And I think the third thing is, I think it might increase theft because it becomes a naughty item.

03:13So I think kids are going to try and do that.

03:15And then I think, who's going to police it?

03:17Trading standards, we don't see them.

03:18There's not enough enforcement there to keep the bad rogue traders offline.

03:23Major supermarkets have already stopped sales of the drinks to youngsters.

03:28The government has launched a 12-week consultation on the issue

03:31and will try and enforce the ban across all retailers.

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