Ending the sale of energy drinks to children and young people: consultation analysis

5. Any other comments

5.1. A total of 61 respondents (31 organisations and 30 individuals) answered Question 9, with some reiterating support or opposition for the policy of restricting the sales of energy drinks. Others raised issues already covered in the analysis at earlier questions, and only points that have not been made elsewhere in this report are included below.

5.2. A small number of health focused charity or campaign organisations and health professional union or royal college respondents suggested the Scottish Government should go beyond the actions currently proposed in relation to improving health and combating obesity. More specifically with respect to energy drinks it was argued there could or should be:

• A tax on high caffeine energy drinks.
• Restrictions on price promotions and multipack offers.
• Minimum pricing.

5.3. A number of health focused charity or campaign organisations, a health professional union respondent and a young people focused organisation proposed restrictions on advertising of energy drinks, including until after a 9pm watershed on television, or more generally across other media platforms. Restrictions on marketing of energy drinks in a way that makes them attractive to children and young people was also advocated, with examples including computer games, cartoon style adverts, use of social media and celebrity endorsements. However, a manufacturer representative body argued that comprehensive measures are already in place to ensure appropriate advertising of energy drinks.

5.4. A small number of health focused campaign organisations and health professional unions expressed concerns with respect to sports sponsorship by energy drink brands, especially with respect to youth sports or extreme sports. Promotion of energy drinks as a means of aiding physical activity and boosting sport performance was suggested to be of concern, and a report that young people may mistakenly use energy drinks for rehydration during physical activity was cited. It was argued there should be restrictions on energy drinks being associated with national sports bodies, competitions and venues, where the Scottish Government has the ability to do so.

5.5. There were calls for restrictions of the sales of energy drinks to be accompanied by an awareness-raising campaign, both for schools and for the general public. A health focused campaign organisation argued that there needs to be a change in the social acceptability of children drinking energy drinks, and that children and young people must be engaged in understanding the need for change. Highlighting the importance of presenting positive reasons for the proposed changes, an individual respondent commented that:

"Lecturing will not help young people avoid drinking these drinks."

5.6. An education focused organisation called for consistency in the approach schools take with respect to energy drinks, and also suggested that schools should communicate promptly with parents if they have concerns about a young person's behaviour or changes in their learning progress.

5.7. Commenting on the roles of retailers, schools and parents in educating children about their diet, a manufacturer representative body highlighted the resources they have developed to help communicate guidance around caffeine consumption. They urged government and stakeholders to make maximum use of these.

5.8. Two health focused campaign organisations and a health professional union argued that labelling of energy drinks should go beyond basic compliance with existing EU Labelling Regulations. It was noted that, in its report on Energy Drinks and Children, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee recommended that leaving the EU should be used as an opportunity to introduce additional labelling requirements for energy drink packaging to make advisory messages more prominent.

5.9. A need for products included in the definition to be easily identifiable was highlighted by a retailer representative body as being particularly important for smaller retailers. It was reported that nearly a third of convenience stores in Scotland do not have electronic point of sale (POS) systems with a till prompt to support compliance. For large retailers who have already introduced a voluntary age restriction for under 16s, it was noted that a decision to set a mandatory age limit of 18 will mean existing POS materials have to be updated and staff retrained.

5.10. A simple and straightforward definition for energy drinks was suggested with a retailer representative body respondent proposing that this should be:

"any drink that contains over 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre, unless all the caffeine comes from coffee, tea or coffee or tea extracts."

5.11. However, it was also argued that the effect of stimulant substances other than caffeine should be considered, with an NHS respondent noting that one country that has banned sales of energy drinks to under 18s defines these as containing:

"one or more substances which stimulate the central nervous system (including glucuronolactone, inositol, guarana alkaloids, ginsenosides, ginkgo extract and taurine)."

5.12. An alternative perspective, given by a retailer representative body respondent, was that the present policy should not be a precursor for secondary legislation that impacts on other products deemed to have similar health impacts or depicted as containing some/similar ingredients as those defined as an 'energy drink'.