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German supermarket discounters Aldi and Lidl will no longer sell energy drinks to children in the Netherlands. The regulation applies from 1 October for children under 14, said Aldi Tuesday. The discounter has justified the move with growing concerns in the company. "By not selling more energy drinks to children, we encourage them to make a healthier choice."
Lidl also announced Tuesday a stop selling children's beverages in the Netherlands. The discounter recently announced that he would no longer sell cigarettes in his Dutch branches. Energy drinks are considered unhealthy because of their high caffeine and sugar content. According to doctors, they can cause agitation, fatigue and cardiac arrhythmia.
The Dutch Association of Pediatricians has called for the ban on energy drinks for children under 18 years old at the beginning of the year. The Ministry of Health rejected the proposal but called on schools, sports clubs and businesses to act. The Food Authority recommends that children under 14 not drink energy drinks. Many schools have already removed drinks from canteens.
Resistance to stimulating drinks is also stirring in other countries. In the UK, Aldi and Lidl had already introduced in March a minimum age of 16 years for the purchase of energy drinks, in addition to many other supermarket chains. The pioneer of the movement is Lithuania, where the sale of energy drinks to children and adolescents was banned by law in 2014.
Germany: Resistance too – but no plans of prohibition
In Germany , however, neither Aldi Nord nor Aldi Süd still expects an age limit, as the company announced on Tuesday on request. At Lidl, there is currently no corresponding plan for Germany. The Foodwatch consumer protection organization has criticized the fact that "Aldi and Lidl Germany are no longer lagging behind in the protection of children and young people," the badociation said.
The Professional Association of Pediatricians (BVKJ) has also been fighting for a long time for an age restriction. "We finally ask the Federal Minister of Nutrition Julia Klöckner (CDU) to ban energy drinks for children and adolescents and to protect them from the side effects of these drinks," said Josef Kahl, spokesperson BVKJ.
Multiple Adolescent Deaths
Caffeine, just like the adrenal stress hormone, stimulates the heartbeat, raises blood pressure and can impair health at very high doses. Perhaps dangerous is also the combination with the sport, which puts additional pressure on the cardiovascular system. This could be a danger, especially in the case of an undetected cardiac malformation, warn critics.
Already many teenagers have died after consuming more caffeine, but deaths are extremely rare. In an otherwise healthy 16-year-old, for example, an overdose in 2017 resulted in fatal cardiac arrhythmias, revealed by the autopsy. The boy from the United States had drunk a large bottle of lemonade containing caffeine, a latte and an energy drink in two hours
There is no comparable case in Germany up to present. However, there are death reports that are supposed to be related to energy drinks in combination with alcohol or intense exercise. Children are more vulnerable to consuming energy drinks because their caffeine is distributed over a smaller body mbad.
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