New energy drink rule hailed a 'huge win for health'

New energy drink rule hailed a 'huge win for health' Plan is set to come into force across England The government is set to prohibit under-16s from purchasing a range of drinks, in what specialists have celebrated as a "huge win for children's health". Under a proposed new piece of legislation, children in England would be barred from buying energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster and Prime from shops, restaurants, cafés, vending machines and online. Up to a third of UK children are believed to consume these kinds of drinks every week, despite most supermarkets having already put a voluntary ban in place. Some well-known drinks pack more caffeine than two cups of coffee. Excessive intake has been linked to headaches and sleep difficulties. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the government had "been called upon" to act by parents, teachers and children back in September. Responding to the announcement at the time, Susan Price, chair of the British Dietetic Association (BDA), said: "This is a huge win for children's health and something that has been so obviously needed for such a long time. "Evidence of the dangers has been consistently shown and a ban was agreed back in 2019. We now urge the government to ensure this ban sees the light of day - for the sake of the 100,000 children and young people that are estimated to be consuming these drinks at least once a day." High-caffeine energy drinks are soft drinks containing a minimum of 150 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per litre, making them significantly stronger than other soft drinks. Caffeine levels in high-caffeine energy drinks typically range from 80mg of caffeine per serving in 250 millilitre (ml) products to between 160mg and 200mg of caffeine per serving in 300ml to 500ml products. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) caffeine topic page, as cited on Gov.uk, some energy drinks can contain up to twice the caffeine found in an average mug of coffee - comparable to the caffeine content of 5 cans of cola. A growing body of evidence points to a connection between the consumption of high-caffeine energy drinks and a variety of potentially harmful effects on children's physical and mental wellbeing, as well as their academic performance.