Nutrients, Vol. 17, Pages 3167: Consumption of Energy Drinks and Attitudes Among School Students Following the Ban on Sales to Minors in Poland

Nutrients doi: 10.3390/nu17193167

Authors:
Regina Ewa Wierzejska
Anna Małgorzata Taraszewska
Agnieszka Wiosetek-Reske
Anna Poznańska

Background: In 2024, Poland introduced a ban on the sale of energy drinks to individuals under 18 years of age. The aim of this study was to assess energy drink consumption among adolescents aged 12–17 years and to evaluate the effectiveness of this regulation. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2025, using an anonymous questionnaire. A total of 1691 students from primary and secondary schools, living in both urban and rural areas, participated. Results: Consumption of energy drinks in the month preceding the survey was reported by 41.1% of students, with the likelihood of consumption increasing by nearly 50% with each additional year of age (OR = 1.496; 95% CI: 1.381–1.621; p < 0.001). Secondary school students reported significantly higher consumption compared with primary school students (47.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.001). The median consumption frequency was 1–2 times per month among primary school students and 1–2 times per week among secondary school students. More than half of adolescents (58.1%) stated that the sales ban did not restrict their access to energy drinks, with adult-mediated purchases being the most common source. Among those attempting direct purchases in physical shops, only 19.3% were consistently asked to provide proof of age. Over half of the respondents did not believe that energy drinks can be harmful to their health; these students reported consumption more than twice as often as students who regarded them as harmful (54.0% vs. 23.9%; p < 0.001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that, to date, the ban on energy drink sales to minors in Poland has had a limited impact on adolescent consumption, highlighting the need for enhanced educational initiatives in this area. However, the study was cross-sectional in nature and was not conducted on a nationally representative sample of adolescents, which should be taken into account when interpreting the results.

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