Energy drinks and energy shots containing caffeine are not suitable for children and young teenagers. Having completed a risk profile on caffeine, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) confirms this advice to parents and caregivers in a newly commissioned 2010 report. “The report has not found anything we didn’t already know: children and teenagers get caffeine from tea, cola drinks and coffee, and if they consume too much they could have effects like dizziness, rapid heartbeat, irritability, anxiety, tremors and insomnia,” says public health principal advisor Donald Campbell.

To allow some comparison, a single-shot espresso coffee has around 80mg of caffeine and a cafe latte 99mg. Energy shots can have twice this amount, or more. A cup of tea has about 55mg and a 50g milk chocolate bar about 10mg.

The NZFSA profile indicates that temporary adverse effects can occur in some people when they consume about 3mg of caffeine per kilo of bodyweight per day. There is no evidence of long term harm in healthy adults from caffeine consumption up to 400mg per day.

Energy drinks sold under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code must display that the product contains caffeine and is not recommended for children, lactating women or those sensitive to caffeine. The level of caffeine must also be stated on the label. The full NZFSA Risk Profile of available products (pdf) shows the strongest energy shots (volume-for-volume) are up to 24 times the strength of Red Bull drink.