MPs could soon BAN retailers near schools from selling energy drinks to under 16s
The move would be a first step in addressing "alarming levels" of energy drink consumption among children
ENERGY drink exclusion zones around schools could help limit consumption among young people, MPs have been told.
The Government should consider imposing a ban on retailers near schools to stop sales of caffeine-filled products to under 16s, teachers' union NASUWT said.
The move would be a first step in addressing "alarming levels" of energy drink consumption among children, the Science and Technology Committee heard.
Darren Northcott, a national officer at NASUWT, warned energy drinks could exacerbate poor behaviour in the classroom, impair concentration and affect the amount of sleep children are getting.
Giving evidence to the inquiry into energy drinks and young people, Mr Northcott said: "I think teachers are pretty clear - there is really no place for these drinks in schools.
"They are not necessary, it's difficult to identify any health benefits that are derived from consuming them."
Mr Northcott said a ban on energy drinks on site, already introduced in some schools, should be implemented across the education system.
A scheme prohibiting retailers near schools from selling the products should also be trialled, he said, adding that similar rules for fast food outlets have been tried out in Milton Keynes and Newcastle.
"Even though pupils may have an opportunity to go out and purchase them from beyond an exclusion zone, an exclusion zone makes that harder," Mr Northcott said.
"It also, accompanied by a really effective education programme for students and their parents, could contribute to beginning to exert downward pressure on the alarming levels of consumption that we see."
Several large retailers, including Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's, have already introduced voluntary bans on the sale of energy drinks to under 16s and some small shops have also done so in agreement with local schools.
However Mr Northcott said a total ban on the sale of energy drinks to under 16s should be implemented in the future.
He said: "A short-term step would be, I think, to stop these drinks being available in schools.
"I think exclusion zones is something that we may be able to do relatively quickly, but we'd have to explore that.
"I think a total ban on under 16s' consumption of these energy drinks is desirable.
"But we evaluate that it may be a longer-term aim, because there may be more obstacles to securing that in practice."
James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, said the approach would not necessarily stop children buying energy drinks on their way to school and may mean certain shops benefit unfairly.
"I'd be really concerned about an arbitrary exclusion zone for the sale around schools, I think it would be a very blunt instrument to address this," he told MPs.
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He said the organisation was willing to work with Government, if they choose to introduce legislation on energy drinks sales, to ensure the ban works in practice.
Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, voiced his support for a total ban.
He told MPs: "We would have children with better wellbeing, who are better slept, who are more productive at school and also, because of the linked sugar, likely to be less obese, that's difficult to prove but that's what we believe."
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