You should be at least 16 to buy an energy drink, says Safefood

There has been a "massive" increase in the number of energy drink products on sale in Ireland with some containing nearly 17 teaspoons of sugar per 500ml serving.

That is according to research carried out by Safefood which indicates that some brands cost less than 50c per can, with males aged 15 to 24 consuming almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of all energy drinks on the island of Ireland.

Whereas 10 energy drink products were on the market in 2002 this had almost quadrupled to 39 such products being offered by 17 separate brands as part of a €1.8 billion industry in 2015.

As regards sugar content, a 500ml bottle of the citrus flavoured energy drink Mountain Dew contains 66g of sugar- or 16.5 teaspoons- followed by brands such as Red Bull which has 27.5g of sugar in a 250ml can, with the lower cost retailer’s own brand Tesco Blue Spark containing 24.5g of sugar in a can of the same size.

Many of the products on offer also have high caffeine content, such as a 500ml can of Monster which contains the same amount of caffeine as two shots of espresso (160mg).

Safefood wants energy drinks to be marketed “without any association” with sport in Ireland, a seemingly difficult task given the almost synonymous relationship companies such as Red Bull and Monster have with motorsports, extreme sports and football through team and event sponsorship.

Safefood director Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan also expressed concern about the consequences of mixing energy drinks with alcohol, a common practice among teenagers and young adults.

“The use of energy drinks as a mixer with alcohol among young adults also has consequences in the context of Ireland’s current binge-drinking culture,” she said.

“Safefood’s position continues to be that these drinks are not recommended as a mixer for alcoholic beverages but this is now common and part of the binge drinking-culture prevalent particularly amongst our 15-24 year olds,” she added.

Although many energy drink labels carry warnings saying they are not suitable for consumption by children aged under 16 Dr Foley-Nolan said there is information to indicate that younger adolescents are consuming these drinks regardless.

She told The Irish Times that she wants to see a "voluntary, responsible" retail approach adopted by companies to ensure such products do not target young children in their advertising.

“The products have been marketed very attractively so we would be concerned that younger adolescents would be attracted to them. At the moment a voluntary, responsible retailing approach is what we would be recommending. I don’t think it’s appropriate to go any further than that at the moment,” she said.

An existent voluntary code by industry representative group Energy Drinks Europe discourages multipack selling of energy drinks but the practice continues in Ireland, driving down the average unit cost to €1.09 and €0.49 for one supermarket own-brand.

Dr Foley-Nolan believes the results of Safefood’s research lend further credence to calls for a sugar-sweetened drinks tax in Ireland.

“I think it adds to the case for a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. I suppose I’m particularly minded of teenage girls and young adults drinking a 500ml can of something that mightn’t taste particularly sweet and then realising that there are two bars of chocolate in terms of sugar in it,” she said.

The Irish Times has contacted some of the brands named in the Safefood report for comment but none have replied as yet.