Oct 1st, 2025
2 mins
The Department of Health and Social Care have launched a consultation seeking views on banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years (i.e. children aged 15 years and under). This includes proposals on:
- the minimum age of sale for high-caffeine energy drinks
- the products and businesses in scope of the ban
- how the ban will apply in vending machines
- the length of time that businesses and enforcement authorities need to implement the ban
- how the ban would be enforced
The proposed ban would apply in England only, since policy relating to high-caffeine energy drinks is a devolved matter.
The consultation document outlines the background on high-caffeine energy drinks and why government is concerned about children consuming them.
The consultation impact assessment sets out our provisional assessment of the impact of the proposals.
You can access the consultation here
