Should Energy Drinks be Limited? Energy drinks are very dangerous and surprisingly have no laws to protect the consumer from these drinks. Energy drinks are everywhere in society. In the morning, many people grab a hot cup of coffee, but the younger generation leans more towards getting an energy drink. Energy drinks have as much if not more caffeine than coffee depending on the brand of energy drink, and have as much sugar as a soft drink does. Many consumers however do not know the dangers of energy drinks when they over consumed.
In today’s society, energy drinks should have laws that limit the consumption and sales, and protect the consumers, such as kids, from the harmful ingredients in them. Researches from the WHO Regional Office in Europe looked at studies that suggested that caffeine intoxication can lead to heart palpitations, hypertension, nausea and vomiting, convulsions, psychosis, and in rare cases, death (WHO Regional Office in Europe, Caffeine should be limited in energy drinks, says WHO research, Life, Health, and Wellbeing).
There are several cases in the United States, Sweden, and in Australia where people have died of heart failure due to the overconsumption of energy drinks. Energy drinks are more dangerous than coffee, because they can be drunk quicker than a hot cup of coffee. The speed at which energy drinks are consumed is where the risk of caffeine intoxication comes into effect. Also, the unknown ingredients are dangerous in energy drinks as well. Energy drinks are sold as a dietary supplement, so they bypass regulation and are not regulated or evaluated by the FDA.
This means that there are ingredients in the energy drinks that are not printed on the label, such as plant and herbal extract. The plant and herbal extract in some cases causes more harm to consumers than the caffeine in the energy drink does. Energy drinks are also a diuretic, so instead of hydrating consumers they have the dehydrate consumers. Energy drinks are very dangerous to consumers if over consumed and it is very scary that there are no laws that protect the consumers from the negative effects of energy drinks.
Another thing that makes energy drinks dangerous is the people the energy drink companies are marketing to. Their marketing is clearly to the younger, risk taking generation with names such as Monster, Rock-On, Rockstar, and Killer Buzz” (Richard C. Senelick M. D. , How Big A Problem Are Energy Drinks, Really? , Huffington Post). Every so often, an action sports event called the X Games happens. Many of the world’s best skateboarders, skiers, snowboarders, rally car races, motocross racers, etc. compete to see who is the best in the action sport they participate in. The X Games 2016 Aspen drink sponsor is Monster Energy. Also, most of these athletes are sponsored by an energy drink company.
X Games is watched by many young kids. When I was around nine, I would watch the X Games all weekend, and would dream about becoming a skateboarder or rally car racer. I was influenced by the people in the X Games that I looked up to, so I wanted to drink what they drink. I did not know at the time that energy drinks are dangerous to children. “What happened was that you have companies that don’t care about children’s health, government regulators that don’t know what they’re doing, people that don’t want to be regulated, and most importantly, the power of the almighty dollar” (Richard C. Senelick M. D. How Big A Problem Are Energy Drinks, Really? , Huffington Post).
Energy drinks cause heart problems, liver problem, seizures, and death to children. How can energy drink companies market to children knowing that their products cause harm to them and not do anything about it? How does the FDA not stop the sale of energy drinks to children, and the abuse of not putting all the ingredients of an energy drink on the drinks label? On the other hand, the argument for energy drinks is that caffeine from the energy drinks improves short term memory, improved concentration, reduced fatigue, and improved reaction times.
Research shows that beyond a brief caffeine high, there are actually no health benefits to energy drinks” (Dr. Manny Alvarez, Why Energy Drinks are Harming Your Kids, Fox News). Energy drinks have eight to ten teaspoons of sugar and caffeine. The sugar and caffeine give the consumer a rise in blood sugar, which will give the consumer a burst of energy. After the burst of energy, the consumer will have a decrease in blood sugar, which will cause a loss of energy or crash. What is the point in getting energy for a few hours, then crashing?
If energy drinks are consumed regularly, they can then lead to high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, increased heart rate, reduced bone density, cardiac arrest, and death to perfectly healthy people. Energy drinks do not provide real energy, but instead provide artificial energy that has bad effects if over consumed. In conclusion, Energy drinks are dangerous and have no laws to protect the consumer from the harms that this substance can produce. Overconsumption of energy drinks can lead to caffeine intoxication, which can then lead to heart palpitations, hypertension, nausea and vomiting, convulsions, psychosis, and in rare cases, death.
Energy drink company’s main marketing focus is to kids, even though the energy drink companies know the harm that the drinks cause on the youth. Although the caffeine from energy drinks provides a quick boost in energy to the consumer, the consumer will crash later in the day from a drop in blood sugar, and if the person consumes these drinks every day in severe cases energy drinks can cause death due to cardiac arrest. Energy drinks should have laws against them to protect the consumer, especially children, from the harmful effects that energy drinks can produce.
