Energy drinks: the British government wants to ban them to minors

The British Minister of Public Health Steve Brine proposes to ban the sale of energy drinks to minors.

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Too many drinks and sugar in energy drinks and for this reason the British government plans to ban them to minors. This is the proposal that comes directly from the Minister of Public Health Steve Brine, who reflected on the fact that one in three children is overweight or obese and that obese children are very likely to become obese adults.

Welcomed by Prime Minister Theresa May, Brine's plan would also include hefty fines - up to £ 2.500 - for traders who fail to comply with the ban.

Containing a mix of stimulating substances, such as caffeine, creatine or taurine, accompanied by very high quantities of sugar, energy drinks are fortunately increasingly in the eye of the viewfinder because they are guilty of having "side effects" that are not exactly pleasant.

The "energy drinks" (EDs) are drinks, mostly non-alcoholic, which can cause changes in blood pressure due to their ingredients and cause damage to the body and beyond: high doses of caffeine, for example, especially in the younger ones, they can go to interfere with the activity of the nervous system and cause irritability, agitation or restlessness, as well as the high percentage of sugar can favor the predisposition to overweight and obesity, but also dental erosion and caries.

Just think that the amount of XNUMX/XNUMX cup sugar (usually in the form of fructose or sucrose) in a 500ml can of energy drink is around 10%. Therefore, consuming half a liter of an energy drink puts more or less 50 grams of sugar in the body, corresponding to 13 teaspoons, an amount equal to two or three times the recommended daily dose and a similar caloric intake can create risks of overweight and obesity.

As for the UK, a 12-week consultation period in the government will begin today to decide mainly whether to impose restrictions up to 16 or 18 years. The consultation is part of the strategies against childhood obesity, underlining that the consumption of energy drinks must be examined since "they are sold at lower prices than soft drinks". The government proposes to impose bans on all energy drinks that contain more than 150 mg of caffeine per liter.

And here with us? There is currently no restriction, but all the negative effects of energy drinks have long been known.