I’m sure there are many of us who drink Red Bull, Relentless, Monster and Rockstar for a long car journey or to get us through a long day at work.
While some may even mix it with Jägermeister as our shooter of choice. It’s a convenient drink to have them around, just in case …
But now, there’s a worrying rise of children getting a buzz from the drinks, and now celebrity chef and campaigner Jamie is calling for the government to ban selling energy drinks to kids – saying that there’s a worrying correlation between the drinks and poor performance at school.
Oliver saying that there should be a new age limit of 16 on all sales, and that we should be following the guidance that already exists on cans – stating that the drinks aren’t suitable for children.
“If the energy drink industry is literally telling us their products are ‘not recommended for children’ on the cans, why can kids as young as 10 buy them whenever they want?” he said.
“This consumption is compromising our kids, and our teachers, too – we have to do something about it. We urgently need the government to step up and put age restrictions on the sale of energy drinks to all under 16s.”
A study by the European Food Safety Authority says that as much as 69 percent of teenagers – and 24 percent of children under the age of 10 – consume energy drinks.
Supermarket Waitrose announced that it is to voluntarily ban the sale of energy drinks to children in its stores.
Teachers’ union NASUWT has also called for a ban.
Kevin Courtney, who’s the Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has said that children’s health needs to be put first.
“Schools do all they can to provide an environment conducive to learning, but they can’t control what’s on sale beyond the school gates. If the Government is serious about protecting children, it needs to put their interests before the profits of the energy drinks industry and ban the sale of these harmful products to under 16s,” he said.
Jamie has a long history of combatting diet-related issues in children, having famously led the way for improving school dinners in the UK.
Remember when he came to a school in America and showed them the gruesome process of how chicken nuggets are made?
Sadly, when he asked who’d want to eat nuggets after seeing all the nasty bits that went into them, the children all raised their hands.
Child’s Cries Lead Police To Her Mother’s Dead Body At The Bottom Of Basement Stairs
A family from Brooklyn are dealing with an awful tragedy.
Just two days after Christmas, police in New York City discovered Tonie Wells at the bottom of her home’s basement stairs.
Authorities were alerted and came to the scene after neighbors heard a child’s cries coming from inside.
Tonie’s 2-year-old daughter, Charlie, was found crying next to her mother’s lifeless body.
If this isn’t heartbreaking enough, some outlets are reporting that Tonie was 8 months pregnant at the time of her death.
According to a statement issued by the NYPD, “Officers discovered a 22-year-old female victim unconscious and unresponsive laying on the bottom of the basement staircase with trauma to the body.” The child’s cries lead the officers to her mother’s body.
NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper says that the death is being treated as a possible homicide. “Preliminarily, the deceased female has bruising on her neck and it appears as if she was either pushed or fell down the flight of stairs leading to the basement.”
The prime suspect in the case is Tonie’s husband, 29-year-old Barry Wells. Wells is in police custody but has yet to be officially charged with a crime.
The New York Post reports that Wells previously attacked his wife.
In September 2017, police arrested Wells and charged him with strangulation in the second degree (a felony) for assaulting Tonie.
According to reports, Wells allegedly dragged his wife down a stairwell and into a closet. He then strangled his wife until she lost consciousness.
In that case, Wells had been released on $5,000 bail, and a temporary restraining order was issued against him.
That case is still pending.
Neighbors also previously alerted police that the couple had “loud arguments.” Despite that, neighbor Michelle Ruiz was still stunned.
“They seemed like a nice family,” Ruiz said to the New York Post. “I would see them together. She was nice. He was always pleasant. This is a very quiet block, I didn’t hear anything today. I’m still in shock.”
“I would never think in a million years something like this would happen.”
According to Tonie’s mother, Elizabeth Rivera, Tonie’s sister alerted the police to report that her sister was “scared” of her husband because he was “acting funny.” Two police officers responded to the call, but never entered the house.
After inspecting the outside of the Wells’ home from their patrol car, the officers decided that the call was unfounded and they drove away.
They didn’t even get out of the car for a potential domestic violence call.
It was only when neighbors made subsequent calls that Tonie was discovered, by another set of officers.
The initial responding officers have been suspended without pay while an internal investigation is conducted.
The police officers have been identified as Wael Jaber and Wing Hong Lau.
Rivera filed a petition in Manhattan Supreme Court asking for a judge to order the NYPD to turn over 911 tapes, police logs, and other documents relating to her daughter’s case.
Sadly, Rivera will need that information for a wrongful death lawsuit.
“My attorneys have informed me that I have a valid and meritorious cause of action,” Rivera says in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. “The officers originally dispatched to my daughter’s home arrived there but did not get out of their patrol car to check on her. I understand that they reported the call as unfounded.”
The mourning mother and grandmother also asked for the NYPD to return her granddaughter’s healthcare information so the young girl can begin therapy.
“I have been advised that my infant granddaughter must appear for counseling regarding the death of her mother. As such, it is necessary for me to obtain my daughter’s personal effects which include my granddaughter’s health insurance identification card,” Rivera says in the lawsuit.
Tonie’s sad colleagues have started a GoFundMe to raise money for Charlie, who is being cared for by family members.