Leon's John Vincent calls for energy drink ban in schools

Leon co-founder John Vincent, who together with partner Henry Dimbleby, is advising the government on school food has claimed that energy drinks in schools should be considered drugs.

Speaking to the BBC he said that the drinks should be banned in order to improve behaviour and concentration.

Vincent said: "Energy drinks are effectively another form of drugs. The amount of sugar and combination of sugar and caffeine in our view is effectively allowing drugs into schools.

"It has a hugely damaging effect on their ability to concentrate, on how they feel, and of course it has health effects."

According to Mintel sales of energy drinks have doubled in the past six years. Typically a 500ml can will contain 160mg of caffeine, which is the equivalent of four cans of coke, along with 12 teaspoons of sugar.

A schools public health advisor, claire Duggan, said that the combination of caffeine and sugar often made children feel unwell.

"They were noticing the side effects but the just accepted that," she added. "So they were saying they felt sick a lot of the time, that they were noticing that they were very shaky, that sometimes they felt dizzy. They say the rush that it gave them could be quite scary if you drank it very fast."

At least one school has banned energy drinks due to their impact on young people.

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