Overview

• The plan targets drinks with more than 150mg of caffeine per litre and would apply across online retailers, shops, restaurants, cafés and vending machines, while lower-caffeine soft drinks, tea and coffee are excluded.
• Products likely to be affected include Red Bull, Monster, Relentless and Prime Energy, which exceed the proposed caffeine threshold.
• Government figures cite about 100,000 children consuming at least one high-caffeine energy drink daily, with up to one in three 13- to 16-year-olds drinking them weekly, and evidence linking use to sleep disruption, anxiety and poor concentration.
• Major supermarkets already restrict sales, but research indicates some smaller convenience stores still sell to children, and high-caffeine drinks already carry warnings that they are not recommended for youngsters.
• Officials say the move could prevent obesity in up to 40,000 children, while health and education groups broadly support the proposal and industry bodies call for evidence-based, workable regulation as timing and enforcement details are finalized.