Call to tighten the law on caffeine-stuffed alcopops

BY ALAN McEWEN CONCERNS have been raised over Dragon Soop – a potent mix of alcohol and caffeine being downed by Scots teens – which can create “wired, wide-awake drunks”.

The brew, selling for £2.99 in brightly coloured 500ml cans, has been linked to antisocial behaviour amid its growing popularity among young people.

It has an alcohol content of eight per cent and 35mg per 100ml of caffeine compared with Buckfast’s 15 per cent alcohol and 37.5mg of caffeine per 100ml.

One can of Dragon Soop contains 175mg of caffeine – more than the 150mg found in a double espresso from a coffee shop.

Fortified with schnapps, it comes in flavours including fruit punch, sour apple, blue raspberry, sherbet, cola, and strawberry and lime.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said the flavours were “reminiscent of a sweet shop”.

Last month, we told how Kayleigh Murray, 27, was pictured with cans of Dragon Soop following her release from a jail sentence for killing Paul Woods, 29, with a single punch during a drinking binge.

Jackie Baillie yesterday renewed her call for a legal caffeine limit of 15mg per 100ml in alcohol, the subject of a failed 2010 bill in the Scottish Parliament.

The Labour MSP said: “Caffeinated alcohol is quite dangerous. It creates wired, wide-awake drunks.

“The way to resolve it is to introduce a legal limit.”

Corinthian Brands, who make Dragon Soop, declined to comment.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We plan to publish a consultation on restricting the sale of energy drinks to young people in spring 2019.” FREE CHRISTMAS HAMPER WORTH £30 Book and attend a free no-obligation consultation with an accredited equity release adviser from Key, between 5 November and 15 December 2018 to receive your free Christmas hamper. For full terms and conditions visit keyadvice.co.uk/hamper