[King Gizzard]

Morrisons bans children from buying high-energy drinks
Supermarket chain is first in UK to restrict sales of high-caffeine products such as Red Bull to under-16s

The Guardian, Friday 22 November 2013 18.36 GMT


Cans of Red Bull energy drink
Under-16s will be unable to buy energy drinks such as Red Bull from Morrisons in a trial scheme. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket chain to ban sales of popular high-caffeine energy drinks to children, amid growing concern about the impact of excessive consumption on child health.

In a pilot which may be rolled out nationally next year, Morrisons checkout staff have been instructed to challenge younger shoppers to prove that they are over 16 before allowing them to buy the soft drinks with the highest caffeine content, including market leader Red Bull.

The move is in line with the British Soft Drinks Association's code of practice and guidance from the government's Food Standards Agency, which specifies that children should only consume caffeine in moderation.

The code specifies that products containing more than 150mg caffeine per litre must carry the warning: "Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine."

Morrisons is the fourth largest UK supermarket, with 570 stores. It is currently trialling the ban in stores in Glasgow, Dorset, Leeds, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Suffolk, with a view to rolling it out further – if successful – next year.

Energy drinks are defined as those with high caffeine levels that are claimed by the manufacturers to give the consumer more energy than a typical soft drink.

The ban by Morrisons applies to products with more than 150mg of caffeine per litre. That includes major brands such as Red Bull which has 320mg, Monster with 338mg and Relentless with 320mg.

Guy Mason, head of corporate affairs at Morrisons, said: "We have become increasingly aware of the concerns of politicians, teachers and parents about the potential impact of high-caffeine energy drinks on young people.

"We decided to take a leadership position by running a limited trial across the UK, banning the sale of such drinks to under-16s and giving us the opportunity to listen to the feedback of customers, young and old."

Mason admitted that there were practical problems in enforcing the ban, however, and went on: "This is still very much a trial. We know that some of our younger customers are having difficulty proving they are 16, and we will have to take this into account when we make our decision in the new year on whether or not to roll this out."

Energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine, usually about 80mg of caffeine in a small 250ml can – the same as three cans of cola or a mug of instant coffee.

But some of the stronger and smaller "shot style" products can contain anywhere from 80mg to as much as 175mg of caffeine in a 60ml bottle. As well as caffeine, they may contain high levels of sugar and herbal stimulants.

Red Bull is now the UK's third bestselling soft drink, after Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Last year 30m cans worth £400m were sold in Britain.

Studies have shown that children who consume moderate amounts of caffeine before physical activity can have elevated blood pressure, while in extreme cases – involving adults – excessive consumption has led to death.

Teachers' leaders and health professionals have expressed concerns about youngsters relying on the drinks – even to start the day as a substitute for breakfast or in a packed lunch.

A recent survey by the Make Mine Milk campaign revealed that one in 20 teenage pupils regularly goes to school on a can of energy drink instead of tucking into a good breakfast.

Chef Jamie Oliver, who has campaigned for higher standards of school meals as well as scrutinising packed lunches, has criticised high-energy drinks as a routine option for children and famously said on the subject: "I challenge you, to go to any school and open 50 lunchboxes, and I guarantee you there will be one or two cans of Red Bull, there'll be cold McDonald's and jam sandwiches with several cakes."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2...rinks-children


thought's ladies and gents? I'm not for or against it really, I know that they're seriously unhealthy though. Not sure a ban was needed

[Amy Jade]

Glad I go to AsdA on my dinner then.

[user104658]

I'm generally against the "banning" of things but the situation with kids and energy drinks at the moment is insane... they drink it by the boatload. My sister-in-law had a boyfriend a couple of years ago, who was told by a doctor that he was doing serious damage to a number of internal organs, by drinking 6 or 7 cans of monster a day. As in, he was actually developing slight jaundice. What the actual ****. And a several-can-a-day habit seems pretty common.

There's a little skate park next to our local playpark and it's constantly littered with nothing but energy drinks cans and bottles. Oh and ... the recent ASDA display stand for Call of Duty: Ghosts included a special offer on 4-packs of Monster. Sigh.

So I'm torn. On the one hand I sort of think kids need to be discouraged from wrecking their bodies. On the other hand, they are THEIR bodies to wreck if they want to... and is it really Morrisons' place to dictate this if it isn't a legal age restriction?

Which opens the question though; should there be a legal age restriction? I doubt there have been any studies into how damaging such high quantities of these drinks are but I'd wager that they're as harmful if not more harmful than cigarettes. Also, high-caffeine drinks are easily just as addictive as nicotine. So if they are just as harmful and just as addictive as cigarettes - why are cigarettes age restricted but not these drinks?

Hmh...

[Me. I Am Salman]

Do people actually go to supermarkets for energy drinks
Most go to corner shops
Energy drinks are vile anyway. Ribera or Coke Zero >

[AnnieK]

I read an article recently about an adult woman getting pancreatitis from drinking too many drinks like this so if it can do it to an adult it's got to be pretty damaging to kids so maybe age restrictions are called for. If the children are allowed by their parents to drink it, it will have to be purchased for them. Seems pretty sensible to me. I can't stand the stuff personally but I know a few people who are pretty hooked on it...

[Me. I Am Salman]

When we went to a residential in secondary my friend took loads of bottles of boost and drank like 4 in one day and his legs began to ache :/

[user104658]

Originally Posted by anniek76

I read an article recently about an adult woman getting pancreatitis from drinking too many drinks like this so if it can do it to an adult it's got to be pretty damaging to kids so maybe age restrictions are called for. If the children are allowed by their parents to drink it, it will have to be purchased for them. Seems pretty sensible to me. I can't stand the stuff personally but I know a few people who are pretty hooked on it...

Indeed; the boy I was talking about had such acute pancreas issues that they had actually started to affect liver function, and he was told that he risked developing full-blown liver disease if he didn't totally cut high caffeine drinks. Terrifying. They basically were thinking that he was an alcoholic at first - because that's how his liver function seemed - didn't believe him when he claimed his alcohol consumption wasn't excessive. Then he mentioned the energy drinks, and that was identified as the cause.

[Scarlett.]

I actually agree with this, those energy drinks do nothing for your body, they make it hard to concentrate, raise your blood pressure and most of all, **** with your bladder, you may as well be drinking piss.

[joeysteele]

I am not sure I agree with the banning of them to 16 year olds and under, after all they display the things with the soft drinks anyway.

However,I can see that too many will not be any good for you. I myself cannot stand the smell of them never mind drink them.

This action seems rather silly though, the thing they should do is remove them from the soft drinks aisle and also not have them with snacks and sandwiches in that area too.

[MTVN]

Can remember when I was about 16 I was buying one and the woman got really judgemental with me and said she'd rather serve me shots of vodka than it. Then she also ID'd me buying the Star cos of page 3 which was equally ridiculous

I'd say they're only that bad if you drink them too much, I drank 1 a day from about 16-19 and dont think its done me that much harm, probably still have about 3 or 4 a week actually tbh. If they were gonna legislate this stuff I'd say they'd be better off going after the ridiculously cheap brands like Kick where they do massive bottles for about half the price of a small red bull can

[Kizzy]

Excellent idea, these 'energy' drinks are just full of sugar, caffeine and other assorted nasties. I honestly think they are very dangerous but parents don't realise how much as it's only 'pop'.
Lucozade is another bad one, used to be with the medcines a few years ago... now it's marketed as a sports drink

[Scarlett.]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Excellent idea, these 'energy' drinks are just full of sugar, caffeine and other assorted nasties. I honestly think they are very dangerous but parents don't realise how much as it's only 'pop'.
Lucozade is another bad one, used to be with the medcines a few years ago... now it's marketed as a sports drink

I used to drink Lucozade a lot, in the end it made me quite jittery, and felt like I needed a piss every 20 mins, so I stopped drinking it and havent drunk it since.

[King Gizzard]

I had a relentless practically every day at 6th form, one of those massive cans.. had a few problems with abscesses under a couple of molars, put 2 and 2 together and stopped having them for 4 years straight, have one every now and again now though, when I do need that jolt of energy and alertness and want something quicker and cooler than a coffee

[Jordan.]

they used to be banned in a few shops near me (I'm guessing they still are I can just buy them now)

[King Gizzard]

I think there is a relaxed ban on selling them to under 13 year olds but don't think it's enforced, just don't think kids tend to buy them, probably think it's alcohol

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Excellent idea, these 'energy' drinks are just full of sugar, caffeine and other assorted nasties. I honestly think they are very dangerous but parents don't realise how much as it's only 'pop'.
Lucozade is another bad one, used to be with the medcines a few years ago... now it's marketed as a sports drink

There's a popular perception that lucozade is good when you're ill because it's a quick source of glucose when you're finding it hard to stomach other foods... However, the high sugar content actually suppresses the immune system and keeps you ill for longer. True story! As for drinking it when healthy... well, basically you're never going to burn off that much glucose so it's basically guaranteed to turn to fat.

I'd say the only "good" time to drink the stuff is if you're finding it impossible to keep real food down with a vomiting / diarrhea bug, and you're feeling desperately dehydrated and low on energy (pounding headaches, etc.)

That said - the absolute worst of the bunch is high-fructose corn syrup, which isn't widely used in UK foods, but US junk food is full of the stuff.

Another interesting fact: a country's rate of antibiotic use is directly proportionate with its levels of refined sugar consumption. That alone is a soft statistical indicator that it's an immunity buster.

[Josy]

I agree with this, kids don't need to be drinking these horrible sugary caffeine filled drinks

[Josy]

Lucozade is a great thing to have on hand for diabetics and people with unbalanced sugar levels, have had to force my friend to drink some of it a few times when she went into a hypo and anyone that's seen that happening knows it's scary as hell.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Josy

I agree with this, kids don't need to be drinking these horrible sugary caffeine filled drinks

There has been some young
killed by over dose of this stuff.


I think other Stores will follow this

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

There's a popular perception that lucozade is good when you're ill because it's a quick source of glucose when you're finding it hard to stomach other foods... However, the high sugar content actually suppresses the immune system and keeps you ill for longer. True story! As for drinking it when healthy... well, basically you're never going to burn off that much glucose so it's basically guaranteed to turn to fat.

I'd say the only "good" time to drink the stuff is if you're finding it impossible to keep real food down with a vomiting / diarrhea bug, and you're feeling desperately dehydrated and low on energy (pounding headaches, etc.)

That said - the absolute worst of the bunch is high-fructose corn syrup, which isn't widely used in UK foods, but US junk food is full of the stuff.

Another interesting fact: a country's rate of antibiotic use is directly proportionate with its levels of refined sugar consumption. That alone is a soft statistical indicator that it's an immunity buster.

It's a misconception that anyone 'needs' sugar or caffeine too, you should get all you need from your diet unless you're diabetic then you should really manage insulin levels to prevent hypos if you can.
The 'hit' of the caffine is what made those who were convalescent feel better for a time and the sugar rush like you say. The only time I've used lucozade is instead of diaoralyte watered down after the kids had the runs!