Minute-by-minute guide reveals what caffeine-packed energy drinks REALLY do to the body and all their deadly health dangers as sales are BANNED for under 16s

Under-16s will soon be barred from buying ‘dangerously’ high-caffeine energy drinks, the Government revealed today. 

Many supermarket chains across the country have already introduced a voluntarily ban on selling the products to minors.

But from January this will be mandatory, making it illegal to sell energy drinks—in shops, restaurants, cafes, vending machines and online—containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre.

‘Irresponsible’ energy drink sales and marketing are ‘driving a crisis in children’s health’ affecting their concentration, sleep and even mental health, experts have argued. 

Lower-caffeine soft drinks—such as Coca‑Cola, Coca‑Cola Zero, Diet Coke and Pepsi —are not affected, and neither are tea and coffee.

However, brands such as Red Bull, Monster, Relentless and Prime would all breach the limit.

Around 100,000 children are thought to consume at least one high-caffeine energy drink every day.

With some brands available for as little as 50p a can, many of the energy boosting drinks can be cheaper than bottled water and are a popular pick-me-up among young people. 

But guzzling too many of them, and too frequently, could have grave consequences, from an increased risk of heart complications and cancers to depression, studies also suggest.

Here, the Daily Mail reveals how the drinks can wreak havoc on the body within just hours and what else is in them that has some experts worried.

Even in low doses, long-term daily energy drink consumption can cause severe, irreversible damage.  

Caffeine is a stimulant which triggers your blood vessels to constrict, increasing heart rate.

While this spike in blood pressure is temporary, the NHS warns that drinking more than four cups of coffee per day, about 400mg of caffeine, may increase your blood pressure in the long run.

One 500ml can of Monster Energy for example, contains up to 160mg of caffeine. 

Once an energy drink is consumed it takes around 10 minutes for the caffeine to enter the bloodstream, causing heart rate and blood pressure to start to rise. 

It can take up to 45 minutes for caffeine to peak in the bloodstream, leaving users feeling more alert and improving concentration as the stimulant takes effect. 

Its effects peak at around 50 minutes once all of the caffeine is fully absorbed.

At this point, the liver also responds by absorbing more sugar into the bloodstream and roughly an hour after consuming the drink, the body then starts to experience a sugar crash.

As caffeine levels plummet, this can trigger tiredness and low energy levels. 

Yet five to six hours later, around 50 per cent of the caffeine content remains in the bloodstream. 

For women on some hormonal contraception, such as the Pill, this percentage is even higher because the oestrogen in birth control inhibits the CYP1A2 enzyme, which is responsible for metabolising and clearing caffeine from the body. 

In most people, the caffeine is flushed out of their bloodstream after 12 hours, but factors affecting how long this can take includes age, body weight and exactly how much caffeine has been consumed. 

Nicotine from smoking, meanwhile. cam significantly cut the half-life of caffeine, allowing it to be cleared from the bloodstream more quickly. 

Given caffeine is a drug, users can often feel withdrawal symptoms between 12 to 24 hours after their last dose, including irritability, headaches and even constipation. 

It can take between a week and 12 days for the body to become tolerant to regular caffeine dosage, reducing the concentration and alertness benefits as the body is accustomed to it. 

But energy drinks can also pose other risks, doctors warn, which could even be life threatening for people with genetic heart diseases.

That’s because energy drinks can potentially disrupt the heart’s electrical system which increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms, known as arrhythmia.  

This risk, combined with other lifestyle factors like sleep deprivation, dehydration, dieting, extreme fasting, vaping and antibiotic medication, may create a ‘perfect storm’ leading to sudden cardiac arrest in some patients, researchers say.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the US looked at the medical data of 144 patients who had survived a cardiac arrest following emergency treatment.

Seven of them, aged between 20 and 42, had consumed an energy drink some time before the life-threatening event, with six requiring defibrillators and one needing CPR.

Three of the patients were regular energy drink consumers and four were revealed to have a type of genetic heart condition.

While the study, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, didn’t prove energy drinks were a direct cause of the cardiac arrests, the researchers still recommend consuming energy drinks in moderation.

Caffeine poisoning, also called caffeine toxicity, is an uncommon but dangerous condition that occurs if a person consumes over 1,200 milligrams of caffeine. 

Medics have anecdotally reported that most visits to A&E related to caffeine poisoning are from young adults who mixed energy drinks with alcohol or other substances. 

Caffeine, however, is not the only ingredient sparking concern among experts. Energy drinks can also contain up to 21 teaspoons of sugar.

Just one 250ml can of Red Bull contains 27.5g of sugars, more than a full fat Coke which contains 26.5g of sugars per 250ml.

The NHS recommends adults consume only 30g of free sugars a day meaning some energy drinks can account for over 90 per cent of a person’s daily sugar intake.

Consuming too much sugar has been linked an increased risk of obesity which itself increases the chances of person suffering serious health conditions that can damage the heart, such as high blood pressure, as well as cancers.

Around two in three adults in the UK are obese or overweight, giving the country one of the highest obesity rates in Europe.

Taurine, an amino acid commonly found in meat, fish and eggs, is also added to many energy drinks including Red Bull. 

It isn’t used to build proteins in the body, like other amino acids, but it does have a range of roles, including regulating the amount of calcium in nerve cells and controlling inflammation.

Studies have long suggested that in small amounts, found in the likes of salmon at 94mg per 100g, it can improve heart function and even reduce total cholesterol.

High levels, however, have been shown to cause vomiting, upset stomach, dizziness, tiredness, diarrhoea, and constipation.

Last year, British researchers who reviewed 57 studies that included over 1.2 million children also found clear links between consumption of energy drinks and increased frequency of headaches, irritation, tiredness and stomach aches.

Published in the journal Public Health, it also found reduced levels of sleep duration and quality, and increased risk of emotional difficulties, such as stress, anxiety and depression. 

Up to one in three children aged 13 to 16, and nearly a quarter of children aged 11 to 12, consume one or more high-caffeine energy drink every week, the Department of Health and Social Care added.

Experts today hailed by move to ban the products for under 16s, warning that ‘growing research’ suggests the drinks pose ‘serious risks for behaviour and mental health’.

Professor Steve Turner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: ‘Young people get their energy from sleep, a healthy balanced diet, regular exercise and meaningful connection with family and friends.

‘There’s no evidence that caffeine or other stimulants in these products offer any nutritional or developmental benefit, in fact growing research points to serious risks for behaviour and mental health.

‘Banning the sale of these products to under-16s is the next logical step in making the diet of our nation’s children more healthy.’

Dr Kawther Hashem, head of research and impact at Action on Sugar, Queen Mary University of London, added: ‘The free sugars in these products increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay, while the high caffeine content can harm young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

‘By ensuring the ban applies across vending machines and convenience stores, the government has the chance to close loopholes and make this policy effective.

‘But success will ultimately depend on proper enforcement so that this ban delivers the safeguarding children urgently need.’