Health Ministry wants study into effects of energy drinks

State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health wants to launch a study into the effect of energy drinks. But he thinks that banning the sale of these drinks to children goes too far, RTL Nieuws reports.

On Monday Dutch pediatricians called for a ban on selling energy drinks to children under the age of 18. According to the doctors, many children end up in the emergency room with complaints like restlessness, fatigue and cardiac arrhythmia due to these drinks. Energy drinks contain too much caffeine, sugar and taurine and can be harmful to children, they said.

"I find a ban on the drinks premature", Blokhuis said to RTL Nieuws. "But an investigation into the drinks, for example by the [Dutch public health institution] RIVM, seems logical to me." He wants the study to look at how other countries deal with these rinks and what the effects of them are. "I also want to investigate what measures can be taken against the harmful effects of the drinks."

The Dutch Nutrition Center recommends that children under the age of 13 don't drink energy drinks, and teens between the ages of 13 and 18 drink no more than one can per day. Energy drink cans also show a mandatory warning that these drinks are not recommended for children.