In 2014, global energy drink sales reached $50 billion, and energy drinks are quickly gaining on coffee as the most popular caffeinated kick in the United States. But unlike coffee, which is generally consumed slowly, energy drinks are consumed more quickly. They’re also marketed to teens, and often mixed with alcohol—a perfect storm for a risk to public health.
Risking heart attacks and ER visits
The addition of caffeine to a sweetened beverage might seem benign, but has in fact led to a notable rise in emergency room visits. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20,783 people visited emergency rooms for issues related to these high-caffeine drinks in 2011, a substantial increase from the 1,494 visits recorded in 2005. Energy drinks have proven particularly dangerous when consumed in large amounts and combined with alcohol or an undiagnosed heart condition.
Besides caffeine, some energy drinks tout an impressive list of additional ingredients that “enhance moods” and other mental faculties. Many of these ingredients are exotic, plant-derived stimulants such as yohimbine (a euphoriant derived from an African bark), evodiamine (a blood pressure regulator derived from a Chinese medicinal fruit), and vinpocetine (an alkaloid derived from periwinkle and used to treat cognitive disorders). These additives may pose additional, unknown health risks, particularly when mixed with medications and alcohol, but there isn’t enough research yet to confirm the full level of risk, or warrant health warnings from the FDA.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does maintain an Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) for energy drinks on their website. Last year, they released a report confirming 34 deaths directly tied to energy drink consumption. Of those deaths, 22 were linked to 5-Hour Energy, 11 were linked to Monster, and one (the first for the company) linked to Rockstar.
Some states attempt regulation
In 2013, the city of San Francisco sued Monster Beverage Corporation over their Monster Energy drink. “Monster Energy is unique among energy drink makers for the extent to which it targets children and youth in its marketing, despite the known risks its products pose to young people’s health and safety,” said City Attorney Dennis Herrera.
Herrera contended that Monster Energy was violating California law with its marketing of highly-caffeinated energy drinks to children as young as 6, despite scientific findings that such products may cause “significant morbidity in adolescents” from elevated blood pressure, brain seizures, and severe cardiac events.
The lawsuit was tossed out by a Federal judge, but this has not stopped Herrera from pursuing further action against the makers of Monster Energy Drinks. He has teamed up with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to investigate the drink company. Schneiderman, who has been involved in an ongoing crusade for better dietary supplement labeling in New York, issued a series of subpoenas against the company in 2012. To make matters worse for the energy drink industry, several states, including Oregon, Washington, and Vermont, have joined the ongoing lawsuits against energy drink companies.
Hard to regulate without hard science
Because these beverages appear to be harmful only in certain circumstances, it is proving very difficult to get any footing in the courts. Rodney Sacks, CEO of Monster Beverage Corporation, said at an investor conference that this form of “legal harassment” against caffeinated drinks is hardly new:
Neither the science nor the facts support the allegations that have been made regarding the safety of Monster Energy products . . . What is now happening is neither new nor unique. Wiley (Harvey Wiley, the nation’s first FDA commissioner) spent a decade crusading against Coca-Cola, attacking them on every conceivable front . . . There are many similarities . . . to the current attacks on energy drinks, which are as flawed as Wiley’s were a century ago.
It’s not easy for the government to change beverage consumption habits in America. It will most likely take a broad attack at the Federal level to see any regulation of the energy drink sector. Until the science is absolutely solid and the links to health risk beyond question, young people will continue to quench their thirsts with quick-delivery, stimulant-enhanced sugar concoctions.
Related articles on AvvoStories:
