text: Energy drinks like Red Bull are causing children to behave badly, a teaching union has claimed . Pupils’ excessive consumption of energy drinks is fuelling deteriorating behaviour, it has been claimed. Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, likened the caffeinated refreshments to ‘readily available legal highs’. Some children drink ‘excessive’ amounts of Red Bull, Monster and Relentless, causing ‘hyperactivity’ and an ‘inevitable crash’ later, the teaching union said. Of the 3,500 teachers it surveyed, 13 per cent cited ‘use of caffeine and energy drinks … as a driver of poor pupil behaviour’. The teaching union is now working with national drug and alcohol charity, Swanswell, to provide pupils, parents and schools with advice on energy drinks. The move comes as doctors warned last week that the drinks can trigger heart problems in healthy teenagers. Miss Keates said: ‘This is the first time we have seen a significant number of teachers beginning to raise this as a concern. ‘These drinks are becoming increasingly popular among young people and are often seen as simply like any other soft drink, but many young people and their parents are not aware of the very high levels of stimulants that these drinks contain.’ She added: ‘Teachers are growing increasingly concerned that some young people are using these drinks to enable them to stay up into the early hours of the morning and then replace their lost energy by drinking two or three cans of these drinks on their way to school. ‘Teachers are reporting that this affects concentration in class and hyperactivity is then followed by the inevitable crash later in the school day when the impact of these drinks wear off. ‘Parents and young people need to be made aware of what these drinks contain and their potential impact on behaviour.’ There is no recommendation around how much caffeine people should drink each day, according to a briefing document prepared for the NASUWT by Swanswell. However, the Food Standards Agency recommends that children should only consume caffeine in moderation. As a result, it would ‘seem logical that children should consume a maximum of 200mg of caffeine per day, as recommended for pregnant women’. Children and pregnant women could drink five 500ml bottles of cola before reaching this daily limit for caffeine intake. However, they could only have one of the top five energy drink brands to get to this 200mg level, according to the report. Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT (pictured), likened the caffeinated refreshments to ‘readily available legal highs’ It also points to a Danish study that revealed over 40 per cent of energy drink consumers experienced insomnia, restlessness and heart palpitations. Twenty per cent of those aged 10 to 14 consume too much caffeine and have a ‘limited knowledge of the ingredients in energy drinks and the side effects associated with them’, the research found. Debbie Bannigan, chief executive of Swanswell, said: ‘As a provider of drug and alcohol services for young people we’re concerned about excessive energy drink consumption, not least because we’re finding links to use of other substances, including alcohol, cannabis and mephadrone.’ Cardiologists in Madrid last week said the energy drinks, which contain large amounts of caffeine, may trigger sudden heart attacks and erratic heartbeats in young, apparently healthy, people.
target: Children drink 'excessive' amounts of energy drinks, teachers' union claim .
  Drinks like Red Bull, Monster and Relentless are causing 'hyperactivity'
  NASUWT likened caffeinated refreshments to 'readily available legal highs'
  Of teachers surveyed 13% cited energy drinks as cause of bad behaviour .