Shopkeeper slammed for banning kids from buying energy drinks
Rajendra Parekh, who runs Station Newsagents in Staplehurst, believes the caffeine-filled drinks 'are worse than wacky backy'
A SHOPKEEPER has faced the wrath of fuming schoolkids after he banned the sale of energy drinks to under-18s.
Rajendra Parekh, who runs Station Newsagents in Staplehurst, believes the caffeine-filled drinks are "one of the worst things ever to have happened to this country in this century", because of their associated health risks.
The shop-owner often tries to lecture the teens, in a bid to stop them downing the potentially threatening drinks.
But the raging kids have become "aggressive", slamming their change on his counter before running out with the sugar-filled beverages.
Mr Parekh said the drinks "are worse than smoking, wacky backy and alcohol", but he can't control the kids urges for them.
He currently sells around 400 cans each week to adults, and claims many are addicted.
Recalling his customers who he claims have been left with a number of health issues, he said: "I have a customer who keeps coming back for energy drinks and when he gives it up he gets a banging headache.
"A girl who works here, her nephew is 33 and he has been given three years to live because all his organs are just finished. The doctors have told her that it is all linked to him drinking energy drinks.
"I tell all the children who come in here not to drink them, but if they don't get them here, then they will get them somewhere else."
ARE ENERGY DRINKS BAD FOR YOU?
Energy drinks are non-alcoholic beverages that contain caffeine, the amino acid, taurine, vitamins, and a wealth of other ingredients, sometimes unknown substances.
People often use the drinks as a stimulant, in a bid to improve performance and increase energy.
Energy drinks currently on the market include, Red Bull, Lucozade and Monster.
Expters often frown upon the drinks because of the sheer number of ingredients and high levels of sugar.
The caffeine can make drinkers feel irritable and restless, and sugar can contribute to weight gain, especially if users do not exercise regularly.
The World Health Organisation claims the drinks are associated with a number of health risks:
- Caffeine overdose
- Type 2 diabetes
- Late miscarriages
- Neurological and cardiovascular system effects in children and teens
- Sensation-seeking behaviour
- Poor dental health
- Obesity
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