DUBAI // The UAE has no immediate plans to follow Saudi Arabia’s ban on energy drinks but guidelines are constantly under review, says the authority that helped to have them banned from schools.
The kingdom prohibited sales of the drinks on Monday but, “right now we don’t have any plans to ban it”, said Mohammed Badri, acting director general of Esma, the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology.
“Every year we have a review and this will be reviewed in the second quarter of this year. We will look at specifications of products and decide whether any limitations need to be adjusted.
“Our decision is already well thought of and we have studied the issue of energy drinks along with the Health Department. We already do not allow these drinks to be sold in schools.”
The sale of energy drinks was banned in schools in 2012 under health guidelines from the Ministry of Education, following Esma's recommendations.
The ban aims to tackle poor nutrition habits among young people. Other food and drinks banned in schools by the ministry at the time included fried meals, food with a high sugar or salt content, carbonated energy drinks and flavoured water.
The caffeine content in some energy drinks ranges between 80 milligrams and more than 500mg a can – twice the daily recommended amount of 250mg, doctors say.
Health experts welcomed continuous campaigns to spread knowledge that too much energy drink can lead to panic attacks, high blood pressure, vomiting and, in severe cases, cardiac arrest.
“Doctors get patients coming in with palpitations and dizziness if big amounts are consumed, and people know that this boost of energy is temporary,” said Dr Sara Malik, a family doctor with the Ministry of Health in Ras Al Khaimah.
“But even if people know it is not good enough because they are still consuming it. So there has to be another answer. There should be an awareness campaign about how to get energy from other sources.
"Children should be encouraged to drink more water. The health message should give people choices and not inhibit them from consuming because then people will be sceptical."
Dr Ammar Hasan, a general practitioner at Medcare Hospital in Dubai, said the drinks also played a role in obesity and diabetes.
“These are extra unneeded calories,” said Dr Hasan. “Parents should be counselled never to give it to children below 16 years.”
"My recommendation is that there must be control exercised because of the stimulants in the drinks. Supervision and parental control are needed because teenagers are the main targets of energy drinks.
“Patients with pre-existing conditions could have palpitations and arrhythmia when they consume a stimulant.”
Prohibiting the sale of certain goods in schools was only introduced after a thorough study by Esma, and there is always room for greater awareness, Mr Badri said.
“Whatever we do will be based on science and after gathering statistics about at what age people are drinking this,” he said.
“We will continue to discuss this with health authorities to see if there should be more campaigns. Part of our guidelines are that shops should clearly label the section as selling energy drinks, for consumer information, so they are not confused with other drinks.”
The sale of energy drinks in Saudi Arabia has been prohibited in restaurants, canteens, and sports and health centres in government and educational institutions, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The ban has also put a stop to advertising, sports sponsorship and social and cultural events organised by energy drinks companies.
It was approved during a cabinet meeting in Riyadh after an interior ministry study of the harmful effects.
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
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- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
