A child was able to buy high-caffeine chewing gum from a shop with no age checks — and later needed emergency hospital treatment. This petition calls for urgent regulation of all high-caffeine products before more children are put at risk!

 

Children in the UK can currently access high-caffeine products that are not regulated in the same way as energy drinks. This creates a serious gap in consumer protection.

 

My concern comes from a personal incident involving my son. He was out cycling with his friends when they stopped at a local shop, where he purchased high-caffeine chewing gum displayed alongside ordinary chewing gum. The product was sold without any age verification checks or challenge. He later became seriously unwell and required emergency hospital treatment at Great Western Hospital, where doctors confirmed caffeine toxicity.

 

This highlighted a wider issue: caffeine is not regulated consistently across different product types, even when the amount consumed and health risks are similar.

 

Current and proposed regulations focus mainly on energy drinks. However, other high-caffeine products — including gums, powders, tablets, pouches, and similar fast-acting formats — are widely available without consistent age restrictions or safeguards.

 

Some of these products contain caffeine levels comparable to, or higher than, standard energy drinks, despite being sold in smaller and more discreet forms. In some cases, newer caffeine products can contain more caffeine per serving than a typical energy drink. This increases the risk that children and young people may not recognise how much caffeine they are consuming, or may unintentionally consume unsafe amounts.

 

Although some retailers have now introduced voluntary age restrictions on high-caffeine products, many others still do not. At present, regulation is based on product category rather than caffeine content. This means products with similar or higher levels of caffeine than energy drinks may fall outside the same safeguards.

 

Caffeine affects children differently than adults, and even relatively small amounts can cause serious symptoms such as chest pain, irregular heartbeat, vomiting, agitation, and collapse. In severe cases, it can become life-threatening.

 

The current gap in regulation means children can still access high-dose caffeine products through mainstream retail channels without consistent safeguards.

 

We are calling for regulation of all high-caffeine products, not just energy drinks, mandatory clearly visible age restrictions on high-caffeine items, stronger health warnings highlighting risks to children, limits on pack sizes and promotional offers that may encourage excessive consumption, and clearer point-of-sale controls to prevent sales to minors.

 

This petition is not about restricting everyday products unnecessarily. It is about ensuring that products containing potentially dangerous levels of caffeine are regulated consistently and appropriately, regardless of format. Without updated regulation, children will continue to be exposed to preventable risks from high-dose caffeine products that are too easily accessible.

 

Thank you to everyone who has signed and shared this petition — your support is helping to push this issue forward.