The American Medical Association has announced its willingness to support a ban on marketing energy drinks to people under the age of 18, Reuters reports.
The report quotes an AMA board member as saying that the “massive and excessive amounts of caffeine” in the drinks may be associated with a number of health issues in young people, including heart problems.
In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it ...
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Researchers who reviewed seven different studies say that consuming energy drinks may have a harmful effect on heart rhythm and blood pressure.
A Fox News report notes that the findings come as regulators, lawmakers and physicians are increasingly concerned about the promotion and consumption of the highly caffeinated beverages.
The researchers analyzed studies that looked at various heart measures following consumption of one to three energy drinks, and reported slightly elevated blood ...
continue reading...A story on NBC 5 out of Chicago says the city council plans to hear testimony about a possible blanket ban on energy drinks within the city limits.
According to the story, Alderman Ed Burke has proposed prohibiting the sale and distribution of some of the highly caffeinated drinks over health concerns, citing FDA data that links at least five deaths since 2009 to Monster Energy drinks.
The report quotes Burke as saying: “Kids are drinking more and more of them. And ...
continue reading...In response to increasing federal scrutiny of highly caffeinated energy drinks, Monster Beverage Corp. has opted to change its official classification from “dietary supplement” to traditional beverage, CBS News reports.
Currently, energy drink manufacturers have the option of choosing either designation. Manufacturers who go with the dietary supplement classification don’t have to list the caffeine amounts, and have more leeway when it comes to adding other ingredients.
However, dietary supplement manufacturers are required to report incidents of adverse effects to the U.S. ...
continue reading...In a column in USA Today, physician Kevin Pho, M.D., warns about the health hazards of high-caffeine energy drinks.
“Perhaps most effective would be to stop seeing energy drinks as beverages, and instead view them as liquid stimulant drugs,” Pho writes. “Because that’s what they really are.”
He cites a recent survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which reported more than 20,000 emergency room visits involving energy drinks in 2011. That’s double the number from 2007.
And last year, ...
continue reading...The federal government estimates that from 2007 to 2011, the number of emergency room visits related to highly caffeinated “energy drinks” has doubled – rising from about 10,000 to more than 20,000.
According to a story in USA Today, most of the cases involved teens or young adults.
Those numbers were released as part of a survey of hospitals throughout the United States, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The report calls energy drink consumption a “rising public ...
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