{"id":1419,"date":"2025-09-03T12:37:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/energy-drinks-ban-forunder-16s\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T12:37:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T11:37:01","slug":"energy-drinks-ban-forunder-16s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/energy-drinks-ban-forunder-16s\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Ban on energy drinks for under-16s will help children and the NHS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DAUK says plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16 will ‘benefit individuals, society, and the NHS’.\r\n\r\nThe Department of Health says its proposals could prevent obesity in up to 40,000 children, and deliver health benefits worth tens of millions of pounds.\r\n\r\nAround 100,000 children consume at least one high caffeine energy drink every day. There is growing evidence linking these drinks to harmful effects on children. These include disrupted sleep, increased anxiety, poor concentration and reduced educational outcomes.\r\n\r\nDr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP co-chair and a GP in south east England, spoke to the i Paper<\/a> about the plans. She described them as \u2018an important step\u2019 in protecting children\u2019s wellbeing and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy drinks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cI strongly welcome the government\u2019s plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s.\r\n\r\n\u201cEvery week in my practice I see the impact that poor sleep, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating has on young people\u2019s health and education.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe evidence linking these drinks to those problems is compelling, and the scale of use among children is deeply concerning.\r\n\r\n\u201cCaffeine at these levels is not harmless. For developing bodies and brains, it can disrupt sleep, worsen mood and anxiety, and undermine learning \u2014 all at a stage when children need stability and focus.\r\n\r\n\u201cMany of these products are also high in sugar, further fuelling the growing crisis of childhood obesity and dental decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safeguarding children<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not about restricting choice, but about safeguarding children from products that are marketed aggressively and consumed widely despite well-documented risks.\r\n\r\n\u201cParents, teachers, and health professionals have long been asking for this change, and I am pleased to see action being taken.\r\n\r\n\u201cBy introducing this ban, the government is taking an important step towards prevention, health equity, and giving children the best possible start in life.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt is a welcome recognition that protecting children\u2019s wellbeing today will deliver long-term benefits not only for individuals, but for society and the NHS as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy drinks ban<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The proposal would make it illegal to sell high-caffeine energy drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to anyone aged under 16 years across all retailers, including online, in shops, restaurants, cafes and vending machines. The proposals would not affect lower-caffeine soft drinks nor tea and coffee.\r\n\r\nThe Government consultation<\/a> will run for 12 weeks.\r\n\r\nHealth Secretary Wes Streeting said: \u201cHow can we expect children to do well at school if they have the equivalent of four cans of cola in their system on a daily basis?\r\n\r\n\u201cEnergy drinks might seem harmless, but the sleep, concentration and wellbeing of today\u2019s kids are all being impacted, while high sugar versions damage their teeth and contribute to obesity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan for Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs part of our Plan for Change and shift from treatment to prevention, we\u2019re acting on the concerns of parents and teachers and tackling the root causes of poor health and educational attainment head on.\r\n\r\n\u201cBy preventing shops from selling these drinks to kids, we\u2019re helping build the foundations for healthier and happier generations to come.\u201d\r\n\r\nPlease support our work by joining DAUK<\/a> or donating to our GoFundMe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAUK says plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16 will ‘benefit individuals, society, and the NHS’. The Department of Health says…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[656,304,132],"class_list":["post-1419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dauk-news","tag-dr-sarah-jacques","tag-gp-committee","tag-nhs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dauk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}