The P.E.I. Medical Society will vote Saturday on a proposal to ask the province to ban the sale of energy drinks to young people.
The vote follows concerns expressed by some school officials about the effects of the drinks on students.
Energy drinks, only recently available on the Island following the lifting of the ban on flavoured, carbonated beverages in cans, have varying amounts of caffeine: from less than the level found in a cup of coffee to much, much more. Some Island doctors are concerned about the effect of the drinks, especially on children.
"We have reports of young students showing up to class after the noon break in a highly jittery, agitated state. And some of them have to be sent home," Dr. Jerry O'Hanley chair of the health care and promotions committee of the Medical Society, told CBC News on Thursday.
O'Hanley admits it's difficult to prove the drinks are bad for children's health, and assistant chief health officer Dr. Lamont Sweet agrees the scientific evidence isn't there.
Sweet said it could be difficult to enforce a ban on the drinks for kids, but noted some European countries have banned certain high-energy drinks. He said the potential side effects of the drinks — such as hyperactivity, nausea and vomiting in some cases, outweigh any benefits for children.
"I wish there were a situation where we could just say we can't have them at all and that's really going to solve the problem of the younger children as well," said Sweet.
"Not that they wouldn't be brought in by other means, but my preference would be let's not have them at all."
Sweet said the health department is talking about the drinks, but no decision has been made yet.
O'Hanley said his committee believes P.E.I. needs more health inspectors. There are currently six environmental health officers to cover the Island, and O'Hanley said there should be twice that number.
"It seems from our information that we're probably stretched a little too thin on the health inspector side at the moment," he said.
"We probably should look to increasing the numbers and resources at their disposal."
The health officers police tobacco sales, smoke-free places, inspect nursing homes and child-care facilities, issue boil-water advisories and inspect all restaurants at least once a year.
Other recommendations the doctors will vote on include making snow tires mandatory, tougher penalties for street racing, and adopting the national building code outside Charlottetown and Summerside. The resolutions will be passed along to the provincial government.
Source www.cbc.ca
The vote follows concerns expressed by some school officials about the effects of the drinks on students.
Energy drinks, only recently available on the Island following the lifting of the ban on flavoured, carbonated beverages in cans, have varying amounts of caffeine: from less than the level found in a cup of coffee to much, much more. Some Island doctors are concerned about the effect of the drinks, especially on children.
"We have reports of young students showing up to class after the noon break in a highly jittery, agitated state. And some of them have to be sent home," Dr. Jerry O'Hanley chair of the health care and promotions committee of the Medical Society, told CBC News on Thursday.
O'Hanley admits it's difficult to prove the drinks are bad for children's health, and assistant chief health officer Dr. Lamont Sweet agrees the scientific evidence isn't there.
Sweet said it could be difficult to enforce a ban on the drinks for kids, but noted some European countries have banned certain high-energy drinks. He said the potential side effects of the drinks — such as hyperactivity, nausea and vomiting in some cases, outweigh any benefits for children.
"I wish there were a situation where we could just say we can't have them at all and that's really going to solve the problem of the younger children as well," said Sweet.
"Not that they wouldn't be brought in by other means, but my preference would be let's not have them at all."
Sweet said the health department is talking about the drinks, but no decision has been made yet.
Health officers, street racing also on agenda
Doctors will be voting on a number of other public policy issues on Saturday.O'Hanley said his committee believes P.E.I. needs more health inspectors. There are currently six environmental health officers to cover the Island, and O'Hanley said there should be twice that number.
"It seems from our information that we're probably stretched a little too thin on the health inspector side at the moment," he said.
"We probably should look to increasing the numbers and resources at their disposal."
The health officers police tobacco sales, smoke-free places, inspect nursing homes and child-care facilities, issue boil-water advisories and inspect all restaurants at least once a year.
Other recommendations the doctors will vote on include making snow tires mandatory, tougher penalties for street racing, and adopting the national building code outside Charlottetown and Summerside. The resolutions will be passed along to the provincial government.
Source www.cbc.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment