Parents and doctors welcome energy drink cafeteria ban in Sharjah

Last week Sharjah Municipality sent out a notice to all food outlets prohibiting the mixing of high-caffeine drinks like Red Bull or Power Horse with other refreshments.

Energy drinks such as Red Bull are now the subject of a mixing ban in Sharjah restaurants and cafes. Rich-Joseph Facun / The National

SHARJAH // A ban on restaurants and cafeterias from adding energy drinks to juices, smoothies and other beverages has been welcomed by parents and doctors.

Last week, Sharjah Municipality sent out a notice to all food outlets prohibiting the mixing of high-caffeine drinks such as Red Bull or Power Horse with other refreshments.

Sheikha Rasha Al Qassimi, assistant director general for public health and central laboratories at the municipality, explained the way energy drinks are added makes it difficult to estimate the quantity being used, which can affect customers’ health, particularly youngsters.

Children under 16 are banned from buying energy drinks in the emirate.

“Teens think energy drinks will improve and enhance their performance. Whether in sports or during exam times, they tend to drink a lot which results in a lot of side effects,” said Dr Muhammad Anwar, senior consultant paediatrician at University Hospital Sharjah, adding that drinking too much caffeine can result in an accelerated heartbeat and raised blood pressure, while the high levels of sugar in energy drinks are bad for diabetics and the obese.

Popular and inexpensive varieties of juice mixes available on cafeteria menus include strawberry, raspberry, peach, mango and pomegranate, with high-caffeine fizzy drinks added.

Staff at a cafeteria in the Sharjah industrial area said they had not yet received a notice from the municipality.

“We didn’t receive notice, however, we don’t sell these kinds of drinks here,” Umran Khan said.

Salwa Hamdan, a housewife and a mother of three boys, said sodas of any kind are not allowed in her home, although her eldest got into the habit of using energy drinks while he was studying.

“When he was in university, he used to drink a lot of energy drinks and coffee when he was preparing for exams and his behaviour rubbed off on my 16-year-old but I was able to stop him,” the 43-year-old Egyptian said.

The caffeine content in some energy drinks can be more than the daily recommended amount of 250mg for adults.

Wired x505 has one of the highest caffeine contents on the international market, with 500mg per can. Rage Inferno contains 375mg of caffeine a can, Redline Power Rush 350mg and Rockstar 240mg. Red Devil has 160mg, while there is 80mg in a can of Red Bull.

Young children should not have energy drinks, while adolescents should not have more than 100mg of caffeine a day, according to the American Academy of Paediatrics.

The sale of energy drinks was prohibited in schools in the UAE in 2012 under health guidelines from the Ministry of Education, while their sale was banned in Saudi Arabia last year.

Parents blamed advertising as a major factor in attracting youngsters.

“My eight-year-old sees a lot of advertisements on TV, be it sodas or energy drinks, it appeals to them and when we are in a supermarket, he tends to pick those items from the shelves,” said Merna Yousef, a 27-year-old mother of one.

“It’s imperative to teach kids from an early age to drink and eat healthy food. Those drinks contain a lot of sugar and other items that are not suitable for little kids,” the Palestinian said.