Government proposes to end the sale of energy drinks to children
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Outdoor News
The Government has today published a consultation proposing to end the sale of energy drinks to children.
The consultation was announced as part of Childhood Obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2. The aim of the policy is to prevent excessive consumption of high-caffeine energy drinks by children.
In the consultation, energy drinks are defined as containing over 150mg of caffeine per litre that requires the product to carry a warning label saying: ‘High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women'. The consultation invites stakeholders to share their views on whether these are the appropriate criteria to use when determining which products would be affected by any restriction on the sale of energy drinks to children.
The consultation includes questions on the whether the age restriction for energy drinks should be implemented at 16 or 18 years old and if a 12 month implementation period is sufficient for the introduction of an age restriction.
Manufacturers are currently required by European Union law to label all energy drinks containing over 150mg of caffeine per litre as 'not recommended for children'. Despite the warning labels, children are still consuming these drinks; recent evidence shows that more than two thirds of UK children aged 10-17, and nearly a quarter of those aged 6-9, are energy drink consumers.
Many larger retailers and supermarkets have voluntarily stopped selling energy drinks to under-16s, but there are still many retailers who continue to sell these drinks to children. Legislating to end the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children would create a level playing field for businesses and create consistency, helping ensure that children do not have access to energy drinks in any shop.
The proposals in the consultation apply to England only. However, the Department for Health and Social Care have indicated they will be working closely with devolved governments. The Scottish Government have previously indicated in their Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan that they will consult on introducing an age restriction on energy drinks starting at 16 years old.
If you have any comments you would like to submit for the consultation please email info@actsmart.biz. The consultation closes on 21st November 2018.
