Buckfast gets smashed in Stateside caffeine blitz

By Michael MacLeod

BUCKFAST’S notorious reputation has spread to America, where health campaigners are warning of its caffeine content.

The tonic wine – mentioned in 5,000 Strathclyde police crime reports in the past three years – is already under fire from Scottish politicians for containing around 375mg of caffeine per litre.

And now it has been branded as 2010’s “Worst Caffeinated Product” by the Caffeine Awareness Association in the US.

But Buckfast’s makers accused the CAA of jumping on the bandwagon, after a recent BBC documentary which blamed the tonic wine for crime.

Buckfast brewers pressured to remove caffeine

By Rory Reynolds

THE makers of Buckfast are under pressure to remove caffeine from its recipe after new figures linked the drink to crime.

Research shows that half of young men jailed for booze-related crimes consumed the tonic wine before committing an offence, with some claiming the caffeine made them “hyper” and aggressive.

A BBC investigation has revealed that the strong tonic wine has been cited 5,000 times in crime reports over three years by Scotland’s largest police force, Strathclyde.

One in 10 of the crimes were violent, with figures showing that bottles of Buckfast themselves have been used as a weapon on 114 occasions.

BBC Scotland Investigates, being shown tonight also examined the physical effects of drinking Buckfast through inmates at Polmont Young Offenders’ Institute.