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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6185
January Session, 2025
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
(1) "energy drink" means a soft drink that contains (A) not less than 2
eighty milligrams of caffeine per nine fluid ounces, and (B) 3
methylxanthines, B vitamins, one or more herbal ingredients or an 4
ingredient labeled "energy blend", and (2) "social media" has the same 5
meaning as provided 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
(c) The working group shall include, but need 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 Substitute Bill No. 6185
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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 Commissioner of 32
Public Health, or the commissioner's designee, shall serve as 33
chairperson of the working group. The administrative staff of the joint 34
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 35
matters relating to children shall serve as administrative staff of the 36
working group. 37
(d) Not later than November 1, 2025, the chairperson of the working 38
group shall submit a report on the working group's study and 39
recommendations to the joint standing committees of the General 40
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, public 41
health and consumer protection in accordance with the provisions of 42
section 11-4a of the general statutes. 43
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) For the purposes of this 44
section, "energy drink" means a soft drink that contains (1) not less than 45
eighty milligrams of caffeine per nine fluid ounces, and (2) 46
methylxanthines, B vitamins, one or more herbal ingredients or an 47
ingredient labeled "energy blend". 48
(b) Not later than December 1, 2025, the Department of Consumer 49
Protection shall develop a notice alerting consumers to the medical risks 50
associated with energy drink consumption by children and make a copy 51
of such notice available on the department's Internet web site. Such 52 Substitute Bill No. 6185
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notice shall incorporate the recommendations submitted by the working 53
group established pursuant to section 1 of this act. 54
(c) On and after January 1, 2026, each individual, firm, fiduciary, 55
partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust or association 56
engaged in the business of selling energy drinks to retail consumers in 57
the state shall post a copy of the notice developed pursuant to subsection 58
(b) of this section in a conspicuous place at the point of sale of such 59
energy drinks. 60
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 Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a), the existing subdivision designators were changed to
subparagraph designators "(A)" and "(B)" and a new subdivision "(1)"
designator and a subdivision "(2)" designator were added for clarity; in
Section 1(c), "commissioners, or their designees, shall serve as
cochairpersons" was changed to "Commissioner of Public Health, or the
commissioner's designee, shall serve as chairperson" for consistency;
and in Section 2(b), the two references to "signage" were changed to
"notice" for consistency.
KID Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO