Almost three in four adults believe that children under the age of 16 should not be allowed to buy energy drinks, a new survey has found.

Energy drinks can contain up to three times more caffeine than known caffeinated drinks such as coffee and cola. While caffeine is generally considered safe, adverse effects, such as a rapid heart rate and high blood pressure, have been linked with the consumption of large amounts.

Over the last year, some large retailers, such as Aldi and Boots, have introduced restrictions on the sale of energy drinks to people under 16. This latest survey has found that 72% of adults in Ireland agree with such a ban.

The under-16 ban is a voluntary move on the part of individual retailers and the Government has no plans so far to make this compulsory nationwide.

The survey also looked at the controversial sugar tax, which was introduced on May 1 last year

As part of this, there is a tax of 30c per litre on sweetened drinks with over 8g of sugar per 100ml, and a reduced rate of 20c per litre on drinks with between 5-8g of sugar per 100ml.

At the time of its introduction, the Government insisted that this tax would help to tackle obesity in Ireland.

However, according to the survey, 45% of people do not feel that this tax will lower child obesity rates in Ireland. Some 34% believe the tax will have an impact.

Overall, more men (40%) than women (27%) believe that the tax will reduce child obesity rates.

Meanwhile, the survey also found that 89% of people think that children and teenagers should do more sport in school and need to learn more about healthy living.

The survey of 1,001 adults was carried out by iReach during the first week of February 2019.