EU No caffeine advertising on energy drinks

EU Parliament stops health claims
"We do not want to ban energy drinks," says Christel Schaldemose, Danish rapporteur at the European Parliament. "We also do not mind people drinking these drinks." However, there are many reasons why there should be no health claims on caffeine on the sweet caffeine shower.

No stricter guidelines for energy drinks. Image: stockphoto-graf - fotolia

The EU Parliament therefore called on the EU Commission on 7 July 2016 to withdraw a draft regulation. Producers of caffeinated drinks should be able to advertise in the future that caffeine increases alertness or concentration. Parliament doubts that this is actually a positive health effect. The list of reasons for refusal is very complicated. According to the provisions of the Health Claims Regulation, no health claims should actually be placed on foods that have low health value. So far, however, the Commission has failed to define what low health value is at all. In the opinion of Parliament, energy drinks are definitely one of them: they can contribute to weight gain with their high sugar content.

But that's not all: teens are the largest group of energy drink consumers. A good 68 percent of European adolescents and 18 percent of children drink it regularly. A quarter of teenagers even drink three or more doses at once. There is no age control on sales. High consumption is associated with headache, sleep problems and behavioral problems.

Health advertising would rather promote the consumption of such drinks in children and adolescents, according to the rejection of the EU Parliament. "We should not play with the health of children," says Schaldemose. Advertisements on the mental impact of caffeine should therefore not appear on the doses. With this decision, the Commission proposal is once again off the table. The signal is also a clear sign to the manufacturer. For, according to Schaldemose, they have already looked forward to further sales growth.

Whether, however, with the veto the consumption of energy drinks can be contained, remains open. As early as 2014, World Health Organization scientists noted that the mix of aggressive advertising and promotions can become a serious threat to public health. The advertising is aimed primarily at young people in a less regulated environment.

(aid) - "We do not want to ban energy drinks," says Christel Schaldemose, Danish rapporteur at the European Parliament. "We also do not mind people drinking these drinks." However, there are many reasons why there should be no health claims on caffeine on the sweet caffeine shower.

The EU Parliament therefore called on the EU Commission on 7 July 2016 to withdraw a draft regulation. Producers of caffeinated drinks should be able to advertise in the future that caffeine increases alertness or concentration. Parliament doubts that this is actually a positive health effect. The list of reasons for refusal is very complicated. According to the provisions of the Health Claims Regulation, no health claims should actually be placed on foods that have low health value. So far, however, the Commission has failed to define what low health value is at all. In the opinion of Parliament, energy drinks are definitely one of them: they can contribute to weight gain with their high sugar content.

But that's not all: teens are the largest group of energy drink consumers. A good 68 percent of European adolescents and 18 percent of children drink it regularly. A quarter of teenagers even drink three or more doses at once. There is no age control on sales. High consumption is associated with headache, sleep problems and behavioral problems.

Health advertising would rather promote the consumption of such drinks in children and adolescents, according to the rejection of the EU Parliament. "We should not play with the health of children," says Schaldemose. Advertisements on the mental impact of caffeine should therefore not appear on the doses. With this decision, the Commission proposal is once again off the table. The signal is also a clear sign to the manufacturer. For, according to Schaldemose, they have already looked forward to further sales growth.

Whether, however, with the veto the consumption of energy drinks can be contained, remains open. As early as 2014, World Health Organization scientists noted that the mix of aggressive advertising and promotions can become a serious threat to public health. The advertising is aimed primarily at young people in a less regulated environment.

The Prevention Officer of the Association for Pediatric Cardiologists e. V., Dr. Martin Hulpke-bet, assumes that even today, a certain percentage of adolescent energy drink consumers have unrecognized heart damage. So far, he has not noticed, because this group is not usually examined by pediatric cardiologists, the doctor suspects. So far there are no studies about it. Gesa Mashkovsky, aid