Sadyr Zhaparov instructs to work out a complete ban on energy drinks in Kyrgyzstan

The President's instruction

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov has instructed the government to study, within one month, the possibility of a complete ban on the production and import of energy drinks, and within six months to adopt the relevant regulatory measures, reports Economist.kg. He explained the decision by the sharp rise in energy drink consumption and the associated risks to public health: according to him, excessive consumption of such drinks increases the risks of heart attack, diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease, places an additional burden on healthcare and the budget, and can also cause addiction.

The scale of consumption and the price of the ban

According to the Presidential Administration, in 2025 Kyrgyzstan produced 25.3 million liters of energy drinks, while imports amounted to about 29.6 million liters. In the first half of 2026 alone, consumption exceeded 36 million liters — meaning that in six months the country drank more than it produced and imported in the whole of last year combined. Zhaparov also gave an economic assessment: a complete ban could cost the budget roughly 1.5 billion soms a year in tax and customs revenues, whereas in 2025 the industry brought in about 1.1 billion soms. In his view, protecting public health should take precedence over economic interests.

Restricting sales to minors

In parallel, on November 6, a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh, Erulan Kokulov put forward for public discussion a draft law banning the sale of energy drinks to persons under 18. The restriction is proposed to cover shops, cafes and restaurants, online marketplaces, order aggregators and delivery services, while sales through vending machines would be banned outright. Sellers who have doubts about a buyer's age will have to check an identity document, and notices about the ban on sales to minors will become mandatory. Violations carry fines: 10,000 soms for individuals and 35,000 soms for legal entities; for a repeat violation within a year, up to 20,000 and 55,000 soms respectively; for the absence of a notice, 1,000 soms for citizens and 5,000 soms.

What has already been done

The topic of restricting energy drinks in Kyrgyzstan has been discussed for several years: since July 2023 their advertising has been banned, and in December of that year the relevant parliamentary committee approved a draft law banning imports and production, which, however, never came up for consideration. Thus, the current initiatives differ in scale: instead of targeted restrictions, for the first time at the presidential level a complete ban on production and imports is being discussed. No final decision has been made yet — the government has been instructed to study the issue, and the draft law on age restrictions is only at the stage of public discussion.