Balearic energy drink ban: nurses push Spain-wide rule
Energy drinks are already off limits to minors in the Balearic Islands, where a ban on their sale and consumption has applied for several weeks. On 31 August, the General Council of Nursing (CGE) called in Madrid for the rule to cover all of Spain. The nursing body says the drinks carry health risks and wants stronger public information campaigns.
Evidence of risk, but calls for more research
CGE president Florentino Pérez Raya backed the government measure but said there is still little direct evidence that a sales ban alone cuts consumption or improves teenagers’ health over time.
The council says wider awareness campaigns and further research are needed. Héctor Nafría, who leads the CGE’s scientific culture and innovation unit, warned that a half-litre can may contain about 160 milligrams of caffeine. For a teenager weighing 50 kilos, that is slightly above the daily reference level set by the European Food Safety Authority.
Nafría said the measures should protect young people, rather than alarm or criminalise them.
Calls for lower caffeine limit and smaller cans
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has proposed banning the sale of all energy drinks to under-16s. Drinks containing more than 32 milligrams of caffeine per 100 millilitres would also be barred for under-18s.
Marilourdes de Torres of the Association of Nurses in Nutrition and Dietetics wants a tougher limit: no sales to under-18s once a drink contains 15 milligrams of caffeine per 100 millilitres. She also wants containers capped at 250 millilitres.
De Torres argues that these are stimulating drinks, not soft drinks, because they contain high levels of caffeine, sugars, taurine and other ingredients. Her association also wants them removed from vending machines, placed beside alcoholic drinks in shops and labelled with clear warnings that they are not recommended for minors or pregnant women.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com