Under-16s will be banned from buying high-caffeine energy drinks in England, if Labour wins 4 July’s general election.Drinks such as Monster, Prime and Red Bull would be blocked from sale, to protect children’s health – but Coca-Cola and Lucozade would not be covered by the ban.The proposal was welcomed by TV chef Jamie Oliver, who said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “You would be amazed if you saw how many kids have breakfast in the form of an energy drink.”Children were “bouncing off the walls” in the classroom, so teachers had to resort to “plan-B or plan-C” lessons, he said.The Conservatives had planned to ban under-16s from buying energy – but the move was scrapped over concerns about “nanny state” meddling in personal choices.Most UK supermarkets have introduced a voluntary ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.In January, a review of the health impact of energy drinks on children highlighted links to more risks than previously thought, such as anxiety, stress and suicidal thoughts.The packaging on the drinks often says they are not suitable for children, and yet they can be easily bought by under-18s from corner shops, the researchers found.It is a huge and growing market, and up to a third of UK children drink them every week.Under Labour’s plans, drinks containing more than 150mg (0.03 teaspoons) of caffeine per litre (a pint and three-quarters) would be banned from sale, in retail outlets and online, to under-16s.Drinks such as Coca-Cola and bottled Lucozade fall under the limit, Labour says. But a 500ml can of Monster Energy contains 160mg – equivalent to more than three shots of espresso or five cans of Coca-Cola. Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting warned children were attending school “wired on the equivalent of …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnUnder-16s will be banned from buying high-caffeine energy drinks in England, if Labour wins 4 July’s general election.Drinks such as Monster, Prime and Red Bull would be blocked from sale, to protect children’s health – but Coca-Cola and Lucozade would not be covered by the ban.The proposal was welcomed by TV chef Jamie Oliver, who said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “You would be amazed if you saw how many kids have breakfast in the form of an energy drink.”Children were “bouncing off the walls” in the classroom, so teachers had to resort to “plan-B or plan-C” lessons, he said.The Conservatives had planned to ban under-16s from buying energy – but the move was scrapped over concerns about “nanny state” meddling in personal choices.Most UK supermarkets have introduced a voluntary ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.In January, a review of the health impact of energy drinks on children highlighted links to more risks than previously thought, such as anxiety, stress and suicidal thoughts.The packaging on the drinks often says they are not suitable for children, and yet they can be easily bought by under-18s from corner shops, the researchers found.It is a huge and growing market, and up to a third of UK children drink them every week.Under Labour’s plans, drinks containing more than 150mg (0.03 teaspoons) of caffeine per litre (a pint and three-quarters) would be banned from sale, in retail outlets and online, to under-16s.Drinks such as Coca-Cola and bottled Lucozade fall under the limit, Labour says. But a 500ml can of Monster Energy contains 160mg – equivalent to more than three shots of espresso or five cans of Coca-Cola. Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting warned children were attending school “wired on the equivalent of …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
