Children face ban on buying energy drinks

CHILDREN may be banned by law from buying energy drinks. The drinks, which are high in caffeine and sugar, have been blamed for causing unruly and dangerous behaviour.

Most major supermarkets have voluntarily imposed bans on sales of energy drinks to under-16s following pleas from teachers, health experts and campaigners who say the products trigger hyperactivity.

MPs on the Science and Technology Committee are to investigate whether a full legal ban is necessary. Consumption by British children is the highest in Europe and has almost trebled in a decade. A study found that 68 per cent of ten to 18-year-olds and 18 per cent of those aged three to ten drank them.

Committee chairman Norman Lamb said: ‘We need to understand how the caffeine and sugar in energy drinks might cause negative health outcomes. Should it be for retailers to decide which products can be sold on health grounds? Our inquiry will consider the evidence.’

The British Soft Drinks Association insisted energy drinks are not marketed at children.