Proposed ban of the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years: impact assessment - RPC opinion
Regulatory Policy Committee opinion of the Department of Health and Social Care’s impact assessments (IA) in respect of the proposals
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The Government propose taking a range of actions, including steps to tackle obesity and promote healthier diets. One of the proposals is to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years in England, to mitigate the potential negative effects associated with the excessive consumption of energy drinks.
The Government have published a consultation on the proposals, together with an IA. The RPC issued, in 2019, an opinion of an earlier IA relating to the proposals. While the IA has since been updated, we are now publishing that opinion, which remains relevant.
The proposals would have a significant impact on energy drink manufacturers (mainly large and medium-sized businesses) and retailers, including vending machine operators (both, are largely small and micro-businesses), who would no longer be able to sell energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years. The largest net costs are familiarisation costs and ongoing administration costs, primarily consisting of identification checks borne by retailers. The IA suggests that costs will be offset by money assumed to be spent on soft drinks and elsewhere within the UK economy. The IA assumes that 90% of children who can no longer purchase energy drinks would opt for soft drinks instead which, on average, contain fewer calories. This shift in purchasing would be expected to result in health benefits.