Waitrose is to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children aged under 16. The supermarket said customers buying drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre would be asked to prove their age from 5 March. It follows concerns over the impact of sugar and caffeine on children. The British Soft Drinks Association said energy drinks had been "deemed safe" by regulators but that they were not marketed or promoted to under-16s. Fans of Irn Bru have started stockpiling the soft drink ahead of a planned change in recipe. Makers of the fizzy favourite are changing the formula of the product to cut the sugar content by almost half. It is part of a sugar-reduction programme by AG Barr before the government levy on sugary drinks comes into effect in 2018.Calls to make people pay more to use disposable coffee cups - a plan already being considered in Wales - have been taken up by a committee of MPs. They want UK ministers to impose a 25p "latte levy" per cup, on top of the coffee price, to fund better recycling and reprocessing systems. The UK throws away 2.5bn coffee cups each year, the committee was told.
