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A small town in WA which stopped the sale of energy-drinks to people under 18 has vowed to keep the ban in place, as other communities look to follow suit.
Key points:
- Bridgetown in WA's South West will keep a ban on energy drinks for under-18s in place
- Results for the four-month trial are yet to be released
- The ban has inspired other communities to consider following suit
Retailers in the South West town of Bridgetown, 260km south-east of Perth, banned the sale of energy drinks to young people earlier this year, as part of Telethon Kids Institute research project.
The results of the trial are expected to come out at the end of the year.
Bridgetown GP Sarah Youngson said the town would continue to enforce the ban.
"There's been very little pushback," she said.
"Young people have gone and purchased other drinks like water, which is great.
"We discussed the future of the ban and there was absolute unanimous support for the ban to continue."
Dr Youngson, who spearheaded the project, said initial results were promising.
"Prior to the ban energy drink consumption was something that I would always flag with young people, especially if they were presenting with symptoms of anxiety and insomnia.
"Now it's something I don't need to ask about.
"It's one of the things we don't need to worry about in our community to a certain extent.
"[And] It's something any community can do."
Others to follow
The Telethon Kids Institute has been approached by other WA towns wanting to put their own restrictions on energy drinks in place.
Bridgetown cafe owner Laurel Keenan, who participated in the ban, said it hadn't brought about too many issues.
"It hasn’t had a major impact really for me but at the end of the day it’s not about dollars and cents it’s about the health and welfare of our kids.
"I think there was a little bit of baulking [from the local children.]
She said she would like to see the ban implemented nation-wide.
"We don’t sell them cigarettes, we don’t sell them alcohol because it’s bad for their health ... and so is this stuff."
WA President of the Australian Medical Association Michael Page backed calls for an expansion of the ban.
"I think any creative approach to reduce the use of caffeinated beverages in young children should be welcomed," he said
"There's very little benefit to these products being available for children and they can certainly cause harm, whether that's in the form of heart disease, poor sleep or poor attention and worsened school performance.
"I look forward to seeing the results of the trial and if successful I absolutely think it could be rolled out to other towns."