Comment on Under-16s to be banned from buying high-caffeine energy drinks including Monster

• Highlandcow@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Kind of agree, I dont care if they’re brain is fully developed or not, caffeine is a legal drug and a teens brain is developed enough to make a decision like this

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  • SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    You’re obviously affected by this personally, and thus biased. You’re blatantly ignoring the fact that few teens have a full understanding of how the human brain works, the chemical interactions involved, or the long-term effects possibly involved.

    Cigarettes were once actually endorsed by doctors, but we all know better now. I’m not saying this is anywhere near that bad, but that’s because I’m admittedly not anywhere near an expert on this - I know the limitations of my knowledge, and when to defer to someone with more expertise. I would suggest you find the humility to do the same.

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    • Highlandcow@feddit.uk ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      “your obviously affected by this” where is your evidence for that? I don’t drink caffeine, I don’t like coffee and I don’t really like tea too much either and ive only have had an energy drink like once, my bias is that I care about personal freedom

      Also are you sure teens don’t care about how energy drinks affect there brain and dont do research into this stuff? And if so isn’t this an issue of education, shouldn’t we just make PSAs and include learning about this into personal health development style classes in schools, why is the immediate reaction to jump to curtailing teenagers freedoms and assume they are too stupid to understand, didn’t we just give 16 year olds the right to vote, and these kids can already drink alcohol from a young age with parental permission

      But your right in that it’s fair that we are always learning about how drugs such as nicotine in cigarettes affect us and that things change and we never have the full facts, but this energy drink restriction doesn’t seem to be a restriction in most other countries and the main justification seems to be reducing NHS waiting times, I don’t think the idea of reducing freedom is the answer to saving the NHS the NHS needs much more complex reform to stay as amazing as it can be

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      • SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        “This sucks” were your words - why else would you say that? Your “personal freedom” argument doesn’t hold water if you’re fine with restrictions on other drugs.

        The article says they’re restricting under 16s, so I’m not sure what you’re thinking with the end of your second paragraph - which kinda lens credence to my point that teens aren’t known for thinking things through.

        Everyone is different, and that includes how they grow and mature. We all know worry-warts, and we all know boisterous jocks who are more likely not to be careful. If course some will think about it due to who they are, but many others won’t - or erroneously rank other things as more important considerations.

        I don’t disagree the justification is flimsy, and as an American I’m not sure why they’re doing that - but I don’t think it’s an entirely misguided approach, either.

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