UK children consume energy drinks at a higher rate than kids in any other country in Europe - with a fifth of three-10-year-olds having them regularly. Is this a health risk, or no worse than coffee?
When Red Bull launched in the UK in 1994, with its odd, cough-linctus flavour and novel billing as an “energy drink”, students and clubbers went mad for the stuff. The brand quickly became a cheap and legal staple for staying up all night. A quarter of a century later, the energy drinks market is still growing and flooded with Red Bull competitors such as Relentless, Monster Energy and Emerge. And it is no longer just young adults guzzling them to study or rave into the small hours; these brands are catnip to children.
Mintel consumer usage data starts at the age of 16, so, officially, the biggest UK market for energy drinks is boys aged 16-24, with 63% indulging (as opposed to 58% of girls). But, according to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) research, two-thirds of 10-16-year-olds regularly consume energy drinks, along with 18% of three-to 10-years-olds. In 2017, public health researchers from the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health asked secondary-school children in north-east England about their consumption of energy drinks. “Sometimes, it’s sleepover day,” said a boy in the 10-11-year-old age group. “So you go to the shop, get energy drinks and you go in your house and you just play on your Xbox.”
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