Lib Dem conference is going to be debating Protecting Children from internet pornography. However, over a coffee decided to slightly reword the motion based on something close to hand.
Conference welcomes the fact that:
A.Caffeine has the power to transform our society by empowering citizens, improving and extending
services, and enabling innovation.
B. It is vital both for our economy and our society that we teach children how to use caffeine from an
early age.
C. Liberal Democrats have a long tradition of protecting free speech and the right for adults to make
informed choices about their own caffeine habits.
However, conference believes that:
i) It is the role of government to protect those too young to make an informed choice from potentially
damaging experiences wherever possible. ii) The long term effects on young minds of early exposure to often strong and highly-caffeinated blends is
highly damaging to impressionable young people and may significantly alter their attitudes to sleep and drink.
iii) The growing danger of children accessing high street caffeine is of increasing concern to parents,
teachers and children’s organisations.
iv) In addition to the problems posed by high street coffee shops, there are also significant concerns about other caffeine access points such as supermarkets and canned drinks that often actively target young people.
Conference notes:
a) That the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has recently found an increase in the number of cases of children sleep deprived from over consumption.
b)The increasing number of cases of children being bullied or coerced into sampling caffeine drinks by their peers.
c) That the National Association of Herbal Tea Manufacturers has found that nine out of ten parents want a default setting on coffee machines to be a single shot.
Conference therefore calls on the Government to:
1. Work with the coffee retails industry to introduce coffee filters to explicit excessive caffeine on all new caffeine-enabled coffee devices.
2.Ensure that those adults wishing to drink extra-strong caffeine material should be required to opt in to machines containing such extra strength by providing verifiable proof of age.
3. Work with Caffeine Service Providers (CSPs) to police actively their platforms and filter out
explicit caffeine which is currently easily accessible to children.
4.Support parents to take a more active role in how their children use caffeine and to understand the
risks involved.
5.Ensure that teaching about the dangers of coffee and the distorted view of caffeine provided by
coffee shops forms part of drink education teaching.
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