Children under the age of 16 in the UK will not be able to legally buy caffeine-pumped, sugar-loaded energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster, if Health Secretary Matt Hancock gets his way.
The British Health Secretary recently announced the age limit ban on sales, repeating his position that tackling childhood obesity is a top priority for the Government.
The move comes after a comprehensive consultation by the UK Health Department, following years of lobbying from health advocacy groups and even high-profile celebrity pressure.
“Following a high level of interest in the consultation, we plan on announcing that we will be ending the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16,” Mr Hancock wrote to his Cabinet colleagues, according the British media reports.
Mr Hancock also told his colleagues that the plan would likely anger some in the business sector because of the impact the changes will have on sales.
But it is yet to be seen what will happen to the new laws once Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his new-look Cabinet settle in.
Mr Johnson is opposed to the proposal.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been a big supporter of the ban, and has campaigned for more than three years on the issue.
“No one wants to ban or regulate anything, but when things go from innocent, tiny things to a prolific problem that’s hurting kids, then we should talk about it,” Mr Oliver said. In a 2017 interview.
“The industry is saying, ‘We don’t market to kids’, but the kids say they do with their colours, their branding, their names and the things they give you when you buy them.”
Mr Oliver’s campaign #NotForChildren released a study showing that 13 per cent of UK kids were consuming 14 shots of caffeine in energy drinks each day.
