![]() ![]() The FDA approved caffeine, but limited the maximum content of cola-type soft drinks to. The manufacturers, however, claimed the caffeine was a flavor enhancer. In 1980, citing health concerns, the FDA proposed to eliminate caffeine from soft drinks, which are regulated as foods. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in a 2008 review published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, note that that lack of consistency is partly due to our long love affair with drinks in which caffeine is naturally occurring, including coffee and tea. ![]() All three major energy-drink makers now have most of their products regulated as foods rather than dietary supplements-though that wasn’t always the case. Though it offers some guidance, the FDA allows manufacturers of liquid products to decide on their own whether to market their products as dietary supplements or as conventional foods and beverages, which carry differing regulatory requirements. Food and Drug Administration have struggled to regulate beverages with added caffeine. Historically, government agencies such as the U.S. The reasons are a mix of lax regulation, the use of caffeine as a sports-performance enhancer among adults, and a bit of scientific uncertainty.Īccording to the sports cardiologist John Higgins, a professor at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston, there is also another factor: “very, very intelligent advertising.” Read: How much caffeine before I end up in the E.R.?Īs the regulatory status of energy drinks continues to be debated, a growing number of consumers and public-health advocates are asking why and how a product loaded with caffeine and other stimulants became so popular among young people. It is supported by the parents of a 16-year-old who died from a caffeine-induced cardiac event after consuming a coffee, a soda, and an energy drink within a period of two hours. A South Carolina bill to ban sales to kids under 18-and to fine those caught selling the drinks to minors- advanced through the legislature in April, and is now pending before the state’s full medical-affairs committee. ![]() In the United States, along with Connecticut, state legislators in Maryland, Illinois, and Indiana have introduced bills, though none have been signed into law. In recent years, countries such as the United Kingdom and Norway have considered banning sales to young people, while Lithuania and Latvia have active bans in place. The showdown in Connecticut, which pitted the City Hill students against a growing $55-billion-a-year global industry, was the latest in an ongoing debate about the safety and regulation of energy drinks. “Age-gating is an incredibly powerful tool,” Luppino said, and should be reserved for “inherently dangerous products” like nicotine. At the Connecticut hearing, the head of public affairs for Red Bull North America, Joseph Luppino, maintained that there is no scientific justification to regulate energy drinks differently than other caffeine-containing beverages such as soda, coffee, and tea-particularly when some coffeehouses serve coffee with a caffeine content exceeding that of a can of Red Bull. Of these, approximately 1,500 were children ages 12 to 17, although the number of visits from this age group increased only slightly over the four years.įor their part, energy-drink manufacturers argue that they are being unfairly targeted. government report found that from 2007 to 2011, the number of emergency-department visits involving energy drinks more than doubled, to nearly 21,000. These recommendations are based on concerns about health problems that, although rare, can occur after consumption, including seizures, delirium, rapid heart rate, stroke, and even sudden death. This popularity is in marked contrast to the recommendations of groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Sports Medicine, who say youth should forgo these products entirely. Another survey found that 28 percent of adolescents in the European Union had consumed these sorts of beverages in the past three days. “Even though this is true, most energy-drink companies continue to market these drinks specifically toward teens.”Ī 2018 report found that more than 40 percent of American teens surveyed had consumed an energy drink within the past three months. Having devoted three months to a chemistry unit studying the ingredients in and potential health impacts of common energy drinks-with brand names like Red Bull, Monster Energy, and Rockstar-the students came to a sobering conclusion: “Energy drinks can be fatal to everyone, but especially to adolescents,” a seventh grader, Luke Deitelbaum, told state legislators. Earlier this year, a half-dozen students from City Hill Middle School, in Naugatuck, Connecticut, traveled with their science teacher, Katrina Spina, to the state capital to testify in support of a bill that would ban sales of energy drinks to children under the age of 16. ![]()
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