Now health chiefs are considering a ban on tea and coffee for children

NOW health bosses are considering banning the sale of TEA to children.

The Welsh Government is currently deliberating whether to ban the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16.

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And they ask if tea and coffee should be blacklisted too.

The call for evidence from experts and industry makes it clear that Welsh ministers see caffeine as a threat to children.

She warns, “Energy drinks contain, on average, about as much caffeine as a double espresso.”

And it says: “Children who drink energy drinks five or more days per week were most likely to have had low mental, physical, academic, and general well-being, such as headaches, sleep problems, alcohol use, smoking, irritability, and exclusion from school.”

That’s why they want to “examine measures to ensure that we can protect the health of our children” – including an outright ban.

A similar ban on energy drinks for children is also in the pipeline by the British government.

But in Wales, experts are then asked: “Should the ban be extended to include other drinks with a typically high caffeine content, such as tea and coffee?”

However, critics criticized this as nonsense and completely unworkable.

Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the free markets think tank’s Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Baning the sale of tea and coffee to children would be the logical continuation of this unscientific policy.

“Since a can of Red Bull contains no more caffeine than a cup of instant coffee, it’s up to politicians to explain why one is too dangerous for fifteen-year-olds but the other is fine.

“I’d love to see them try.”