Sainsbury’s joins Aldi, Asda and Waitrose in shock Red Bull ban

SUPERMARKETS have been lining up to toughen restrictions on the sale of energy drinks after reported links to dietary problems and poor academic performance.

By Dan O'Donoghue /

Red Bull cans GETTY

16 BAN: From March supermakets will request ID for energy drinks

Sainsbury's is the latest retail giant to require anyone who they believe is under 16 to show ID when buying drinks like Red Bull, Relentless, Monster Energy and Rockstar.

The supermarket joins Aldi, Asda, and Waitrose in making the pledge to withhold the highly caffeinated products from youngsters.

The restrictions will apply to soft drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre from March 1.

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They can cause early puberty - A Harvard Medical School study of 5,583 girls aged nine to 14 found that those who drank just one-and-a-half cans of soft drink a day had their first periods earlier than those who did not. Getty Images
They can cause early puberty - A Harvard Medical School study of 5,583 girls aged nine to 14 found that those who drank just one-and-a-half cans of soft drink a day had their first periods earlier than those who did not.

    Current guidelines require any soft drink with that level of caffeine in them to be labelled with a warning and state that it's not suitable for children.

    Sales of energy drinks in the UK increased by 185 percent between 2006 and 2015, with the industry now worth more than £2billion.

    But a single 500ml can contain as much as 160mg of caffeine, which is the same as two shots of espresso, sparking health fears.

    Consumption of the drinks has been linked to low academic performance and dietary problems.

    It has even been suggested that regulator consumption is a gateway to drug use, smoking and alcohol abuse.

    In a statement, Sainsbury’s said: "From March 1 we'll prevent the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s."