Hansard

I, too, thank Graeme Dey for bringing this hugely important debate to the chamber. There is no doubt that energy drinks are a billion-dollar industry and that their popularity keeps growing, despite health concerns. We have heard from members across the chamber tonight about the effects of those energy drinks and the dangers that they pose, particularly for children and teens. In fact, we have probably already heard everything that I am about to say, but I will proceed in any case.

Energy drinks typically contain large amounts of caffeine, added sugar, other additives and legal stimulants, and it is the legal stimulants that can increase alertness, attention and energy, as well as increasing blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate.

The drinks are often used by students to provide an extra boost in energy, but the stimulants in the drinks can have a harmful effect on the nervous system. The potential dangers of energy drinks include dehydration, heart complications such as an irregular heartbeat and heart failure, anxiety and insomnia. Studies have shown that children who consume moderate amounts of caffeine before physical activity can have elevated blood pressure and, in extreme cases involving adults, excessive consumption has led to death.

Children and teenagers are being deceived into drinking large cans of energy drinks, thinking that they will improve their performance at school or during a sports event. In reality, energy drinks are more likely to increase their risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes or dental cavities, which will have lifelong implications for their health. The results of a recent study revealed that energy drink consumers are unaware of the products’ main ingredients, health implications or appropriate serving sizes, which I found very disturbing.

Children and teenagers are the main consumers of energy drinks and they are being subjected to unacceptably high levels of sugar and caffeine. The average sugar content of an energy drink is more than the entire recommended daily maximum for an adult in the UK. That is damning in itself, but what about the children who drink several such drinks through the course of a day?

Energy drinks are marketed for general consumption rather than for athletes, who are targeted with so-called sports drinks. Despite energy drinks with high caffeine levels having to carry a warning that they are not recommended for children or pregnant women—a recent study found that 43 products carrying such warnings each contained the caffeine equivalent of nearly two cups of coffee—a survey of 16 European countries including the UK found that 68 per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds and 18 per cent of children aged 10 and under consume energy drinks, with 11 per cent of adults and 12 per cent of children drinking at least 1 litre at a time. That is utter madness.

Teachers and health professionals have expressed concerns about youngsters relying on the drinks—some start their day with an energy drink as a substitute for breakfast and some have them in their packed lunch—and a survey that was carried out 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 has campaigned for quite some time to see higher standards of meals, as well as scrutinizing packed lunches, and he has repeatedly criticised high-energy drinks. Famously, he said:

“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”.

He has repeatedly voiced serious concern that the drinks are turning our kids into addicts and has referenced teachers having to plan lessons around students being high. Jamie Oliver summed up the selling of energy drinks to children very effectively when he claimed that children rely on an energy drink to give them the boost that they need to get up in the morning, and that they experience a low when the effects of their sugar and caffeine wear off, so they have another in the afternoon before finishing off the day with a final can. That yo-yo of highs and lows makes youngsters feel lethargic the next morning, which prompts them to reach for another energy drink and the cycle begins again.

The facts about the content of energy drinks and the ease with which young people have access to them are alarming, and I congratulate all the major supermarkets that have been instrumental in supporting the ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s, as well as the independent retailers in Scotland that have also supported the ban. I acknowledge and thank everyone in the retail sector who has pledged to implement the ban.