‘Parents don’t seem to be worried about this. They should be’

High doses of caffeine, as found in many brands of energy drinks, have a toxic effect on children, doctors say.

Energy drinks are designed to increase mental alertness and physical performance through caffeine and herbal supplements such as guarana, kola nuts and yerba mate.

Many of them contain substantially more caffeine for each serving than conventional soft drinks.

Of the leading brands, Red Bull contains 80 milligram of caffeine a serving; Monster Energy, Rockstar, Java Monster, 160mg each; and Nos, 260mg.

“At high doses, caffeine can have a toxic effect on children,” said Dr Binoy Nellissery, a paediatrician at Aster Hospital, Mankhool.

“At a very low dose there are few problems but when it is consumed in higher doses like in these energy drinks, there are problems.

“Caffeine is easily accessible and there is no social stigma with energy drinks as there is with taking drugs or alcohol, but it can have a similar effect.”

With a heavy dose of caffeine, heart rate and blood pressure increases. In young children it often causes a stomach upset.

“Caffeine can make schoolage children nervous and jittery, so its use must be monitored and young children should not be consuming these drinks,” Dr Nellissery said.

“We have seen very high levels of caffeine intake lead to heart attacks in some children, in rare cases.

“There are some studies, but more research can be done and children under the age of 12 should not be consuming caffeine at all.

“Warnings on the cans themselves could be better and there seems to be very little social awareness among parents. They don’t seem to be worried, so there could be more intervention from the Government and at a school level to highlight the problem and bring it into the public awareness.

“Supermarket notices would at least help parents to make an informed choice and that is a start to help discourage children and teenagers.”

Nick Webster