Vodka, Taurine… What is Vody, the 22% Alcohol Drink that France Wants to Ban?
Sold in 25 cl cans for just a few euros, this drink, Vody looks like a soda, but contains up to 22% alcohol.
Towards the ban on this alcoholic drink? The Minister responsible for Health and Access to Care, Yannick Neuder, spoke this Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at the National Assembly, his willingness to act against it the Vody drink, which he considers a “ real scourge ”.
He denounced “extremely aggressive marketing for our youth” and announced the launch of a prevention campaign to raise awareness among young audiences.
Danger de la boisson Vody : @yannickneuder déclare mettre en place “une campagne de prévention” et envisager sérieusement à l’interdiction, voire appliquer “une règlementation européenne”.#DirectAN #QAG pic.twitter.com/AzjMcpU68j
— LCP (@LCP) May 21, 2025
Between 18 and 22% alcohol
“We have to go much further, we have to equip ourselves with all possible levers”, he said, suggesting a possible ban on this drink. even apply “European regulations”.
Vody is an alcoholic drink made from vodka, mixed with caffeine and taurine, two substances whose association with alcohol is causing concern among health professionals.
Very popular in Africa and the Antilles, this drink, in the form of 25 cl cans, is starting to be marketed in grocery stores from France, between 4 to 5 euros each, indicated in the hemicycle the deputy of Guadeloupe Olivier Serva.
The craze around this drink has reached a new milestone among young people with #VodyChallenge, a competition on social networks where you have to drink the most cans in record time. Result: alcoholic comas, tachycardia, panic attacks and hallucinations.
With an alcohol level between 18 and 22%, it is already banned in certain West African countries, notably Côte d’Ivoire, where it has given rise to several serious incidents.
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