Spain’s Minister for Consumer Affairs, Pablo Bustinduy, has confirmed that the government will press ahead with new rules banning the sale of energy drinks to anyone under 16.
For drinks with particularly high caffeine levels, ministers plan to go further. Products containing more than 32 milligrams of caffeine per 100 millilitres will not be sold to under-18s.
Bustinduy said scientific evidence shows energy drinks pose a genuine health risk to children and teenagers, and said the ministry will use the strongest legal powers available to introduce the rules as quickly as possible. He added that the proposals already command broad public support.
He made the government’s priority clear: protect young people’s health, not the commercial interests of what he called a powerful industry.
Public support for the ban
The latest survey from the Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency reflects that support. Nine in ten people in Spain favour banning the sale of energy drinks to minors. Almost 90 per cent of 18 to 35-year-olds also back the restriction.
The survey highlights how common consumption has become. One in four respondents drinks energy drinks, typically twice a week. Almost half of those consumers drink them daily, and 47 per cent regularly mix them with alcohol, despite repeated warnings from health experts.
Part of a wider European shift
Spain is not acting alone. Several European countries, including Germany, Norway, Latvia, Poland, Hungary and Lithuania, have already introduced similar restrictions in response to concerns about caffeine levels and adolescent health.
In Spain, the new regulation will extend the existing ban on sales in schools to shops, supermarkets and other retail outlets.
Tackling unhealthy advertising
Bustinduy also announced plans to curb advertising of unhealthy food and drink aimed at children and teenagers. He said many of these adverts harm young people’s health and respond to growing public concern.
Data from the agency underlines that view. Nearly 80 per cent of Spaniards support a complete ban on advertising unhealthy food to minors. On average, children in Spain see more than 4,000 television adverts for unhealthy products each year, about 11 a day. When social media and other platforms are included, that figure rises to around 30 a day.
A tougher stance on young people’s health
Together, the energy drink restrictions and advertising reforms mark a firmer approach to products linked to poor diets and health risks among young people.
If approved, Spain will join a growing number of European countries setting clear legal limits on high-caffeine drinks and aggressive food marketing, reshaping what children and teenagers encounter both in shops and on their screens.
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