SCHOOL children are consuming so many addictive high-caffeine energy drinks they are “bouncing off the walls” and unteachable in class, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
A new report has shown that 15 per cent of people in Britain now have the fizzy beverages with breakfast — and experts say a proposed ban on selling them to under-16s must be brought in as a matter of urgency.
AlamyKids are consuming so many addictive high-caffeine energy drinks they are ‘bouncing off the walls’[/caption]
SuppliedHysteria as kids scramble for Prime drinks at Aldi in December 2022[/caption]
Energy drinks are becoming more popular in deprived areas and lower-income households while decreasing in affluent communities, a study by The Nutrition Society has shown.
Kids are knocking them back without realising they can affect their psychological, physical, educational and overall wellbeing, plus cause hyperactivity and inattention.
The European Food Safety Authority says the average consumption of energy drinks in Europe is two litres a month.
Adolescents in the UK consume one litre more than that.
School safeguarding officer Lauren Morley told The Sun on Sunday: “The impact is scary, it’s an epidemic.”
The drinks are packed with an addictive mix of caffeine, sugar and stimulants and can cost less than a bottle of water at just 30p a can.
‘High-level anxiety’
Excessive caffeine can lead to hyperactivity, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, stomach pains and sleep disturbances.
The drinks can also contain additives such as the herb guarana, which is twice as strong as coffee beans.
Lauren, 32, from Worthing, West Sussex, added: “For a lot of students, their breakfast is a can of Monster energy drink, often on an empty stomach.
“The caffeine and sugar goes straight into their bloodstream.
“On one occasion, I stood outside an exam hall and 80 per cent of the students were drinking energy drinks.
“They thought it would boost their energy but it can lower their grade by 20 per cent.
“They struggle to concentrate.
“Their behaviour is off the charts.
“Many have depression and high-level anxiety attacks.
“Energy drinks are the common denominator.
“When they stop drinking them for two weeks, they drastically improve.”
Before Labour came to power, the party promised to outlaw selling drinks with more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to under-16s, but the only UK-wide change has been a voluntary ban introduced by supermarkets.
Councils can restrict or ban the sale of energy drinks, particularly to children, through exclusion zones around schools.
Lauren says: “They need to be banned completely.”
Professor Amelia Lake, a dietitian and public health nutritionist with Teesside University, points out that although more adults than ever are using them for shift work or driving late at night, “they have no place in a child’s diet whatsoever”.
She said: “We’ve heard horror stories of kids literally bouncing off the walls at school after drinking energy drinks in the morning.
“A group of ten-year-olds were high as kites during lessons and then barely able to sit up straight when the effects wore off.
“There have been assaults by 13-year-old pupils that resulted in their energy drinks being confiscated.”
For a lot of students, their breakfast is a can of Monster energy drink, often on an empty stomach. The caffeine and sugar goes straight into their bloodstream
Lauren Morley
Darren Northcott, from teaching union NASUWT, said: “Teachers can restrict them at lunch and break times.
“But before and after school, we see excess consumption that impacts kids’ ability to learn.
“They aren’t getting enough sleep, so to counteract that effect, they have another energy drink.
“That becomes a vicious circle.”
In 2023 Luan Tusha’s eight-year-old son from Edmonton, North London, “nearly died” after drinking a £2 can of Prime.
His heart rate reached 145 beats per minute when it should only go up to 110.
Luan said: “He couldn’t breathe.”
In some areas, one in three kids are drinking them every week.
We’ve heard horror stories of kids literally bouncing off the walls at school after drinking energy drinks in the morning
Professor Amelia Lake
When that rises to five days a week, the effects on their mental and physical health are devastating.
And research by Best Western Hotels has found that energy drinks are overtaking orange juice as the morning drink of choice.
Professor Lake says experts “don’t know the long-term health effects”.
The drinks provide short bursts of energy that are followed by a massive crash, which makes it difficult to carry out basic tasks.
But when they were first introduced in the late Nineties, they were advertised as vitamin-packed mood boosters.
A strong association with star athletes — former England striker Jamie Vardy downs a few cans of Red Bull before every game — has added to their appeal.
Ian WhittakerConcerned safeguarding officer Lauren Morley said: ‘The impact is scary, it’s an epidemic’[/caption]
David Dyson Commissioned by The SunA 330ml can of Prime Energy contains 140mg of caffeine — four times as much as Coca-Cola at 35mg[/caption]
Red Bull is the most widely recognised brand. Nearly 13billion cans were sold worldwide last year.
But £1.85 cans of Monster Energy, which is part-owned by Coca-Cola, are so popular they have protection caps on them in supermarkets to try and combat shoplifters.
When Prime arrived in the UK in 2022, there was a frenzy to buy a limited supply after being hyped by social media influencers Logan Paul and Britain’s Got Talent judge KSI, who have a 20 per cent stake in the brand. By that year, sales of Prime hit $1.2billion.
A 330ml can of Prime Energy contains 140mg of caffeine — four times as much as Coca-Cola at 35mg.
A single shot of espresso contains between 47 and 75mg.
Greg Stafford, the Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon, who is also a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, fears for pupils who are not even drinking energy drinks.
He said: “It’s disruptive for the other children in the class, who aren’t going to learn as well.
“We need to move rapidly to put an age limit on energy drinks because the protection of children is absolutely paramount.”
Prime declined to comment.
‘Sick at party’
TEENAGER Felix Marsh quit buying energy drinks when he realised they stopped him sleeping.
The 16-year-old from Balham in South London, said: “This time last year I was waking up tired and groggy every morning and thought a can of Monster was a quick fix on the way to school.
“I pass cornershops who all sell them to kids in school uniform, without asking for ID although I think they are supposed to.
“I’d have to down it fast, though, because teachers confiscate those types of drinks.
“My mates thought energy drinks would help us focus while revising for our GCSEs but I would be really fidgety and distracted in lessons.
“Then at a friend’s party last summer I had four or five cans of Monster and felt really sick. My heart was racing and I couldn’t get to sleep for ages when I got home.
“I haven’t touched them since.”
‘Get ’em canned’
AFTER seeing children chugging energy drinks at the gates, mum Petra Williams decided to change the secondary school she was going to send her ten-year-old daughter Emelia to.
The full-time mum from Newcastle said: “It was the one her primary school feeds into so it was the obvious choice.
“But we drove past and saw children as young as 11 outside with energy drinks and vapes.”
Petra, 36, who is also mother to Layla, eight, and Bailey, seven, added: “I immediately decided she would not be going there and started looking for another school.
“Energy drinks should be banned for children – it is just common sense.
“There are so many chemicals in them that are not suitable for kids.”
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