STANFORD, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's a school safety approach that's rarely implemented: banning energy drinks.
Starting this week, Lincoln County Middle School students will no longer be able to bring energy drinks to school.
It's a move introduced by School Resource Officer James Mayfield with Stanford Police after he says he noticed a large number of students drinking them.
"There are a lot. I've seen. There's way more than I would thought I would ever see in a school," said Mayfield.
After researching its effects on children, Mayfield says he knew he had to bring up the idea to try to help the kids he thinks of like his own.
"I just feel like it's a recipe for disaster for chidren," said Mayfield. "When they drink them, I just think their anxiety goes through the roof. They can't focus because they're jittery and shaky."
Mayfield says he would not be surprised if it were a factor in some of the behavioral problems they see and expects incidents to decline.
Beyond that, he says the health risks were alarming.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn each energy drink has an unhealthy amount of caffeine and stimulants that have no place in a young person's diet.
Yet between 30 and 50% of young people surveyed by (AAP) say they drink them.
According to research firm Circana, energy drink sales in the United rose by at least 7 billion over the past five years.
In 2011, a bill was proposed by Kentucky lawmaker Danny Ford to ban the sale of energy drinks to children. He attempted to place a limit of 71mg caffeine per 12oz, but it never passed.
In Connecticut, lawmakers are at odds over the issue and are currently debating. You can find that bill here.
The Kentucky Department of Education does not track the data on schools that have implemented a ban.
Elementary and middle schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) cannot sell energy drinks due to federal regulations.
"Schools participating in NSLP are also required to have a Local School Wellness Policy in place. When school administrations limit or prohibit a food/beverage or associated activity that is not regulated by the program (such as banning energy drinks being brought from home), they use the Local School Wellness Policy to do it," said KDE spokesperson Jennifer Ginn.
Lincoln County Middle School is currently the only school LEX 18 is tracking that has such a ban in Central Kentucky.
