1. Kristina D’Arcangelo D’Arcangelo 1
Professor David DiSarro
English 101
20 February 2013
Energy Drinks Should be Banned or Regulated
Americans are known for expressing themselves, enjoying their freedom, showing off
their livelihood, and living in a fast-paced world. Every day, people are stressed out, rushing
between school, work, sports, and their social lives, causing them to overwork and exhaust
themselves. All of this hustle-bustle can lead to fatigue and a feeling of crashing or burning out,
which in turn leads them to turn to a boost of caffeine. For the past 100 years, the number one
jolt of caffeine came from a cup of coffee; however, energy drinks are now increasingly popular.
Almost half of the youth in America have said they drink energy drinks regularly or have tried an
energy drink more than once, looking for a hefty dose of caffeine (“Energy Drinks Pose” para 1).
This increase in the consumption of energy drinks has many side effects on teenagers, most of
which are negative. Kids think they are helping themselves stay awake and can accomplish
much more after drinking an energy drink, but what they do not know is that these drinks can
lead to many health problems such as dizziness, high blood pressure, obesity, heart attacks, and
even death (“Energy Drinks Pose” para 2). Through much investigation and research from
creditable doctors and scientists, it is evident that energy drinks are extremely dangerous to
adolescents, and should be banned in the United States or at least regulated, including modifying
the amount of harmful ingredients or the minimum age in which you are allowed to purchase
these harmful drinks.

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According to a journal published by The New York Times, in 2012, the energy drink
industry had approximately $10 billion in sales (para 4). The majority of these consumers were
under the age of 35, (Meier, para 4). Most young adults are unaware that the manufacturers of
these drinks market their products as dietary supplements. In doing this, these drinks are not
regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The negative effect of this is that manufacturers
are not limited to amount of caffeine they use in the making of these drinks, and they do not even
have to disclose this information or other harmful ingredients (McLellan and Lieberman, para 8).
The majority of these “miracle” drinks actually have extremely high amounts of dangerous and
damaging ingredients such as caffeine, ginseng, glucose, guarana, taurine. Most energy drinks
contain about 140-170 milligrams of caffeine in a 14-16oz can (“Caffeine” para 1). This is
double the amount of caffeine in and 8oz cup of coffee. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system,
and in excessive amounts can cause dizziness, headaches, jitteriness, and you will become unable
to fall asleep (“Energy Drinks Pose” para 2). When consuming this amount of caffeine in one
serving, adolescents become wired, only to significantly crash sooner than later. Energy drinks
also contain about 50-60 grams of glucose or sugar. This level of sugar in the blood can cause
insulin to go through the ceiling, which leads to the inability to burn fat, in turn causing obesity,
(“Glucose” para 1). This is misleading because most energy drinks are marketed to increase
productivity and weight lost from the high increase of energy, but they actually contain too much
sugar to burn off. Adolescents are misled, because these drinks can actually cause obesity.
Guarana is also an ingredient commonly found in these drinks. Guarana comes from a South
American shrub and is also loaded with caffeine. In comparison to a coffee bean, a seed from
guarana has 4-5% caffeine, where as a coffee bean only has 1-2% caffeine, (“Guarana” para 1).

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The combination of these ingredients in high dosages can be extremely harmful to person’s
health and can even cause death.
Another dangerous fascination with energy drinks in mixing them with alcohol.
According to a survey, as many as 51% of college students reported they had mixed alcohol with
an energy drink, (Howland and Damarispara 1). This is extremely dangerous because of the high
level of stimulants such as taurine, ginseng, and caffeine in energy drinks. Alcohol is a
depressant, so when the two opposites are mixed together, it sends mixed signals to the central
nervous system and also causes cardio problems, (Howland and Damarispara 2). Also, alcohol
severely dehydrates people, causing intoxication. The high levels of caffeine and glucose in the
energy drinks also causes dehydration, and when the two are mixed together the combination
causes the person to be increasingly intoxicated. This high level of caffeine also adds to a
person’s impaired judgment. Typically, a person drinking alcohol mixed with an energy drink is
perceived to be “more drunk” then a person just drinking alcohol; however, it does depend on the
person’s height and weight. This combination of alcohol and high levels of caffeine and other
harmful ingredients can be deadly. Adolescents are not even old enough to consume or purchase
alcohol, so equally should not be old enough to consume or purchase energy drinks. A notable
British health website concurs, advising, “Redbull should not be drunk with alcohol, or after
exercising,” (“Mail Online”para 1). They also reported three cases of death from these
situations. The same website also states that Norway, Denmark, and France have banned energy
drinks from all stores except for pharmacies, (“Mail Online”para 8). The reason for this is
because they consider energy drinks as medicine or a drug due to its high caffeine content (Smith
1).

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The New York Times reported in 2011, that there were 20,783 reported emergency room
visits in which an energy drink was cited as the primary cause of or a contributing factor to a
health problem, (Meier para 3). In 2007, 10,068 people reported emergency room visits again
citing energy drinks as the cause, (Meier para 3). They also stated that there were no numbers
submitted for 2012. "Such problems, which are typically linked to excessive caffeine
consumption, can include anxiety, headaches, irregular heartbeats and heart attacks," (Meier para
3). These statistics demonstrate that the number of cases of emergency room visits in the United
States doubled between 2007 and 2011. Adolescents need to take this into account, and realize
that if nothing is regulated with these energy drinks, the rate of emergency room visits and even
deaths will continue to increase.
Energy drinks are extremely dangerous whether mixed with alcohol or consumed by
itself. At least 20 cases have been noted over the past 5 years in which the situation was deadly,
(Meier para 8). In one particular case, a 14-year-old girl, Anais Fournier, from Hagerstown,
Maryland, died in December, 2011. One thing to consider is Fournier did have a heart condition
known as mitral valve prolapse. The affects of this condition includes one of the heart valves to
malfunction. Fournier was shopping at a local mall the night of December 16, 2011, when she
purchased a 24-ounce can of “Monster” energy drink. On December 17, 2011 she drank a
second 24-ounce can of the same energy drink. Apparently she consumed two 24-ounce cans of
this energy drink within 24 hours. Later that night on December 17, 2011, she was allegedly at
home watching TV with her boyfriend when she unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest. Her
parents immediately brought her to Meritus Medical Center, and she was later flown to John
Hopkins Hospital. Doctors at the John Hopkins Hospital were forced to place her in an induced

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coma to keep her brain from swelling; however, she never regained consciousness. On
December 23, 2011, she was declared brain dead and her parents had to make an unfortunate
decision to pull her off life support. The parent of Anais Fournier are now filing a wrongful
death law suit against the Monster Beverage Corporation. Perhaps her mother, Wendy
Crossman, stated it best, “I was shocked to learn the FDA can regulate caffeine in a can of soda,
but not these huge energy drinks. With their bright colors and names like Monster, Redbull, and
Full Throttle, these drinks are targeting teenagers with no oversight or
accountability,”(Bonurapara 5). This is true because the energy drinks certainly target young
adolescents with their color schemes and advertisement, suggesting that kids can boost their
energy and productivity with one can, not knowing what harmful ingredients really lay beneath
its eye-catching marketing. Her mother also stated, “These drinks are death traps for young,
developing girls and boys, like my daughter, Anais,” (Bonurapara 8). Obviously, the Monster
corporation is fighting the allegations, claiming that the allegations of the product were not
responsible for the death of Anais Fournier. “Caffeine can be lethal in doses ranging from 200 to
400 milligrams,” (Bonurapara 10). The two cans of Monster energy drink that Anais consumed
contained 480 milligrams of caffeine which is equal to fourteen 12-ounce cans of soda. In
addition to the caffeine, Monster also contains guarana, which contains caffeine and taurine.
Taurine is said to have similar effects on cardiac mussels, (Bonurapara 15).
The use of energy drinks should be banned for the sale to adolescences under the age of
18, or at least regulated. We should not give naive children under the age of 18 the opportunity
to hurt themselves by consuming an energy drink. Under age children are not allowed to buy
harmful tobacco products that have long term negative effects, nor should they be able to buy

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energy drinks, which may have immediate damaging side effects. The high levels of caffeine
and other damaging ingredients should be reduced or controlled. There should be a limit to the
number of dangerous ingredients that can be used in formulating an energydrink, including
limiting the percentage of each ingredient. It is proven that these drinks can negatively affect a
person’s heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, motor activity including speech rate, alertness
and body temperature, which adolescents are unable to detect from the list of ingredients. They
are unaware of what ingredients are actually put into these drinks, and if they are not regulated,
the manufactures may continue to increase the levels of destructive ingredients to add an
increased “jolt” in these drinks. The false advertisement aiming toward adolescents is
destructive and misleading. If nothing is done to regulate these products, the rate of emergency
room visits and death will unfortunately increase and become a reoccurring event.

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Works Cited
Bonura, Denise. Anais Fournier’s parents file wrongful death lawsuit against Monster Beverage
Corp. The Record Herald.com Retrieved 5 Februrary2012.
Howland, JohnathanPhD, MPH; Damaris J. Rohsenow, PhD. Risks of Energy Drinks when
Mixed with Alcohol, The Journal of American Medical Association. Published
16 January 2013.
Loeb, Heather. “Do the Ingredients in Energy Drinks Work?” MH Lists. Web. Retrieved
6 February 2013.
McLellan, TM; Lieberman, Hr.Do Energy Drinks Contain Active Components other than
Caffeine?Nutrition Reviews, 2012 Dec; Vol. 70 (12), pgs 730-44. Date of Electronic
Publication: 2012 Nov 9.
Medline Plus. "Energy Drinks Pose Risks to Teens,” U. S. National Library of Medicine.
Published 1 February 2013.
Meier, Barry. "More Visits to Hospital Linked to Energy Drinks." The New York Times.
12 January 2013.
Smith, Geraint. "Three Deaths Linked to Energy Drink." Mail Online.Web. Retrieved
5 February 2013.