Galicia to Regulate Energy Drink Sales to Minors in 2024

Galicia to Regulate Energy Drink Sales to Minors in 2024

A public institute in Ferrol regularly removed energy drink cans from classroom bins after every break. The administration banned their sale in the cafeteria, but students crossed the street to buy them from vending machines. The Xunta de Galicia (regional government) has decided to cut off supply by law: it will be the first region to regulate their consumption, access, and advertising for minors starting in 2024, within a new Addiction Prevention Law that will also regulate vapes. Galician President Alfonso Rueda described it as "a public health problem" and announced the measure as making his region "the first to regulate it."

Daily Consumption That Triggered Alarms

The data held by the Galician Health Service is stark. According to the 2021 ESTUDES survey, 40.4% of youths aged 14 to 18 consumed energy drinks daily. This figure represents a ten percentage point increase over three years compared to 2018. The Galician average exceeds the national one by five points, with the national rate at 45%, indicating that the phenomenon is not limited to regional borders. The consumer profile is predominantly male, according to the same statistics.

The health argument relies on the product's composition. According to calculations circulating in the debate, a can of Monster contains 150 milligrams of caffeine, more than double that of a cup of coffee, which has around 70 mg. Two cans total 320 milligrams, close to the recommended maximum of 400 for an adult. Added to this is sugar: a single can can double the recommended daily intake. Effects described by experts include nervousness, anxiety, irritability, and sleep disturbances.

Ban or Educate? The Fundamental Conflict

The measure has peine a gap between those who see the ban as intolerable interference and those who consider it a health necessity. Part of the analysis argues that the State should not decide what a teenager drinks, and that the measure is a patch that does not address the root of the problem. The most repeated example: a 17-year-old cannot buy a can of Monster, but can buy a kilo of coffee at the supermarket. The ban is perceived as arbitrary while coffee, tea, or ethyl alcohol remain accessible.

At the other extreme, some defend that restriction is the minimum required for a product designed to hook users. Comparisons with tobacco and alcohol, already banned for minors, appear repeatedly. And a recurring warning: if it is banned for minors, why not for adults? The official response is that the law only regulates minor access, not adult consumption.

The Fine Print Not Yet Written

The Xunta is finalizing the bill and expects to submit it to the Consello (executive council) in a few weeks before sending it to Parliament. Specific details —which drinks are included, which vapes are equated with tobacco, how advertising and sponsorships are controlled— remain in the hands of health experts. The rule also contemplates separate sales from conventional soft drinks and a declaration of "zero tolerance" for botellón (street drinking gatherings).

Skepticism about efficacy runs through many opinions. It is argued that banning for minors will not prevent consumption, just as it did not with alcohol: kids will find a way to buy them. The comparison with mandatory vaccination during the pandemic appears as an example of a measure that generated rejection and did not resolve the core issue. Others point out that the real problem is a lack of education at home and that no law replaces the family.

Business and Symbol

Beyond the health debate, the measure has an economic leg. Energy drinks are a growing segment, with high margins and a loyal young audience. Banning their sale to minors cuts the potential market and forces manufacturers to reposition the product. It also affects establishments that sell them: school cafeterias, vending machines, and supermarkets.

The Galician decision is read as a dress rehearsal. If the law passes and withstands predictable appeals, other regions could trinc suit. The question remaining is whether the problem is the drink or the lack of alternatives for a generation stimulated by cans. With 40.4% of Galician adolescents taking them daily, the answer does not seem simple.