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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 6185
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 3885
Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN
Introduced by:
(KID)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY DRINKS BY
CHILDREN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (Effective from passage) (a) For the purposes of this section, 1
"energy drink" means a soft drink that contains (1) not less than eighty 2
milligrams of caffeine per nine fluid ounces, and (2) methylxanthines, B 3
vitamins, one or more herbal ingredients or an ingredient labeled 4
"energy blend", and "social media" has the same meaning as provided 5
in section 9-601 of the general statutes. 6
(b) There is established a working group to (1) study the (A) medical 7
risks associated with energy drink consumption by children, and (B) 8
anticipated effects of a prohibition on the sale of energy drinks to 9
children on (i) the state-wide sale of energy drinks, and (ii) public health, 10
and (2) make recommendations for (A) a public awareness campaign 11
concerning such risks that includes, but is not limited to, a video 12
recording for publication or broadcast on television and social media, 13
(B) notice to be posted at the point of sale of energy drinks in retail 14
establishments alerting consumers to such risks, and (C) a one-page 15
document explaining such risks. 16
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(c) The working group shall include, but not be limited to, the 17
following members, who shall be selected jointly by the Commissioners 18
of Public Health and Consumer Protection: (1) The chairpersons and 19
ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General 20
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children and public 21
health, (2) an individual with expertise in advertising and marketing, (3) 22
a parent or guardian of a child who experienced adverse health 23
conditions or died due to the consumption of energy drinks, (4) a 24
pediatric cardiologist, (5) a representative of a state-wide chapter of a 25
national association of pediatricians, (6) a representative of a state-wide 26
governing body for interscholastic athletic activities, (7) a representative 27
of the Connecticut Children's Medical Center, (8) a representative of a 28
state-wide association of food retailers, wholesalers, distributors and 29
service providers, (9) a representative of a manufacturer of energy 30
drinks, (10) the Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 31
designee, and (11) a licensed athletic trainer. The commissioners, or their 32
designees, shall serve as cochairpersons of the working group. The 33
administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the General 34
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children shall serve 35
as administrative staff of the working group. 36
(d) Not later than November 1, 2025, the working group shall submit 37
a report on its study and recommendations to the joint standing 38
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 39
relating to children, public health and consumer protection in 40
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 41
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) For the purposes of this 42
section, "energy drink" means a soft drink that contains (1) not less than 43
eighty milligrams of caffeine per nine fluid ounces, and (2) 44
methylxanthines, B vitamins, one or more herbal ingredients or an 45
ingredient labeled "energy blend". 46
(b) Not later than December 1, 2025, the Department of Consumer 47
Protection shall develop signage alerting consumers to the medical risks 48
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associated with energy drink consumption by children and make a copy 49
of such signage available on the department's Internet web site. Such 50
signage shall incorporate the recommendations submitted by the 51
working group established pursuant to section 1 of this act. 52
(c) On and after January 1, 2026, each individual, firm, fiduciary, 53
partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust or association 54
engaged in the business of selling energy drinks to retail consumers in 55
the state shall post a copy of the notice developed pursuant to subsection 56
(b) of this section in a conspicuous place at the point of sale of such 57
energy drinks. 58
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2025 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a working group to study the medical risks associated with
the consumption of energy drinks by children and effects of a
prohibition on the sale of energy drinks to children, and require signage
related to the medical risks associated with the consumption of energy
drinks by children.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: REP. LINEHAN, 103rd Dist.
H.B. 6185