On Thursday, 4 September, the Saeima approved in the second reading the Draft Law on the Sale of Energy Drinks. The goal of the Draft Law is to control the trade and advertising of energy drinks. The draft law also envisages a ban on the sale of energy drinks to individuals under the age of 18.

Jānis Ozoliņš, Chairman of the Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee, which is responsible for the Draft Law, points out that the Law on the Sale of Energy Drinks is drafted according to the Public Health Guidelines, and it is needed in order to control the trade and advertising of energy drinks, as well as to promote the health of young people by banning the sale of energy drinks to individuals under the age of 18.

The Law will provide that individuals under the age of 18 will be prohibited from selling and purchasing energy drinks. Retailers will be obliged to demand consumers to verify their age by presenting an identity document, while consumers will be obliged to present a document attesting to their age and identity upon request from retailers or supervisory and monitoring bodies.

The new Law also intends to prohibit the sale of energy drinks in the premises or territory of educational institutions. It also will prohibit offering energy drinks to persons under the age of 18 for free, as a gift or bonus for purchase of other services and goods.

Additionally, the Law will set forth that in retail stores energy drinks and other food products will have to be placed on separate shelves so that energy drinks can be easily identified. Retailers will also be obliged to post an informative sign regarding the high concentration of caffeine in energy drinks and the negative impact they can have on pregnant and breast-feeding women.

The Law also aims to regulate the information included in advertisements of energy drinks by supplementing advertisements with warnings on the negative effects of their excessive consumption, and it will specify the visual layout of such information and introduce advertising restrictions.

It is planned that the implementation of the Law on the Sale of Energy Drinks will be supervised and monitored by the State Revenue Service and other authorities according to their sphere of competence.

Before the Draft Law can be adopted, the Saeima has to review it in the third reading.

Saeima Press Service