A doctor is warning parents over the staggering amount of caffeine in the new Prime Energy drink before it hits UK shelves this year.
Prime has caused a frenzy in the UK since it was released by its YouTuber creators KSI and Logan Paul and has seen fans pay thousands and endure lengthy lines to purchase the viral drink.
With a young fan base, many children and teens have tried to get their hands on a bottle. However, many parents might not realise there a two different drinks - and one is packed with caffeine.
Prime Energy is the caffeine-laden sister product of Prime Hydration, which has surged in popularity in the last six months and is sold UK supermarkets.
While Prime Hydration contains 0mg of caffeine, the same can't be said for Prime Energy, which its creators plan to release in the UK in April.
The official website states that one 12oz can - or 355mls - of Prime Energy contains 200mg of caffeine. A warning on the page states that the energy drink is not "recommended" for children under the age of 18, as well as pregnant or nursing women.
A can of Red Bull has between 75-80mg of caffeine, meanwhile a full can of Monster Energy contains 160mg. An average cup of coffee contains around 40mg of caffeine.
However, there are no laws in place restricting sales of energy drinks to under 16s and if Prime Energy proves to be as popular as its predecessor, it will likely fall into children's hands.
According to GP Dr Hana Patel, 200mg is double the amount of acceptable caffeine for children, though she recommends that they avoid it all together - as it can cause symptoms such as insomnia, heart palpitations, dizziness and anxiety.
She said: "Caffeine is a stimulant and evidence and research shows, that children should not have caffeine in their diet, if they do it should be no more than 100mg of caffeine in a day. Caffeine also may harm children's still-developing cardiovascular and nervous systems.
"To give an example of how much caffeine there are in drinks and food, a can of Coca-Cola has 32mg caffeine in it. Foods can also have caffeine in them, for example, a milk chocolate bar may have up to 10mg of caffeine in it."
Even one can of Prime Energy may be too much for adults as it supplies over half of their caffeine recommended daily amount.
"For adults, the NHS recommends no more than 300mg of caffeine a day - found in four coffees for example - as people can get side effects," she added.
"Such effects include Insomnia, heart palpitations, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, feeling dizzy, feeling that you need to drink more to get the same effect, anxiety symptoms - to name a few.
"The NHS suggests that pregnant women consume no more than 200mg, or two cups of caffeinated coffee a day."
Since arriving in the UK, Prime Hydration has proven to be a sensation among shoppers. Two Scots even made headlines after they drove 224 miles to Leeds to get their hands on the beverage.
In 2019, the government announced it would ban the sale of energy drinks to children under 16, but this has yet to be enforced.
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