"Energy drinks are a problem that the public healthcare system must address and in that regard I believe that, regardless of our political party membership, we will exchange opinions and launch actions aimed at preserving the health of Croatian children," Kujundzic said on Friday afternoon after earlier in the day SDP officials -- Biljana Borzan, who is a member of the European Parliament, and Sinisa Varga, a former health minister -- outlined their initiative for a ban on the sale of energy drinks to minors.
Borzan and Varga called for the prohibition of the sale of energy drinks to minorities just as alcohol and ciggaretes are banned.
The two SDP officials said that energy drinks were problematic due to high sugar amounts, caffeine and taurine.
They also warned about the correlation between obesity and energy drinks' consumption.
Over a quarter of school-age children in Croatia are overweight and 11.2% are obese, Varga said.