This document discusses the dangers of energy drinks, especially for teenagers. It notes that energy drink consumption has risen significantly in recent years, with almost half of American youth drinking them regularly. However, energy drinks contain large amounts of caffeine and other stimulants like guarana and taurine that can cause health issues like high blood pressure, obesity, and even death when consumed in excess, especially when mixed with alcohol. The document cites statistics showing a doubling of emergency room visits related to energy drinks between 2007-2011. It concludes that energy drinks should be banned for those under 18 or better regulated due to the health risks they pose to developing youth.

1. Kristina D’Arcangelo D’Arcangelo 1
Professor David DiSarro
English 101
12 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. Everyday, 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 (“Medline Plus” February 1,
2013). 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 donot know is that these
drinks can lead to many health problems such as dizziness, high blood pressure, obesity, heart
attacks, and even death.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.
According to a Business Day journal published by The New York Times on January 11,
2013, in 2012 the energy drink industry had approximately $10 billion in sales. The majority of

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these consumers were under the age of 35, (Meier, par 4). Most young adults are unaware that
the manufactures of these drinks market their products as dietary supplements. In doing this,
these drinks are not manufactured 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, pgs. 730-744). 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, (MH Lists, “Caffeine” par 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. 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, (MH Lists, “Glucose” par 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. 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, (MH Lists, “Guarana” par 1). The combination of these
ingredients in high dosages can be extremely harmful to person’s health and can even cause
death.

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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, ( JAMA par 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, (JAMA par 2).Also, alcohol severely dehydrates people,
causing intoxication. The high levels of caffeine and glucose in the energy drinks also
causesdehydration, 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
par 1). They also reported 3 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 par 8). The reason for this is because they consider energy drinks as
medicine or a drug due to its high caffeine content (Smith pg.1).
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 par 3). In 2007, 10,068 people reported emergency room visits again

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citing energy drinks as the cause, (Meier par 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 par
3). These statistics demonstrate that the number of cases of emergency room visits in the United
States double between 2007 and 2011. Adolescents need to take this into accountability, 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. Atleast 20 cases have been noted over the past 5 years in which the situation was deadly,
(Meier par 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
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

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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,”(Bonura
par 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 lie beneath its eye-catching marketing.
Her mother also stated, “These drinks are death traps for young, developing girls and boys, like
my daughter, Anais,” (Bonura par 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,” (Bonura
par 10). The two cans of Monster energy drink thatAnais 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, (Bonurapar 15).
In conclusion, the use of energy drinks should be banned for the sale to adolescences
under the age of 18, or atleast regulated. We should not give children under the age of 18 the
opportunity to hurt themselves by consuming an energy drink. The high levels of caffeine and
other damaging ingredients should be reduced or controlled. 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. The false advertisement aiming to adolescents is destructive and misleading. If

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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 www.therecordherald.com/article/201221022. Retrieved
Februrary 5, 2012
Howland, JohnathanPhD, MPH; Damaris J. Rohsenow, PhD.Risks of Energy Drinks when
Mixed with Alcohol, The Journal of American Medical Association
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1487124published January 16, 2013.
Retrieved Feburary, 03, 2013.
McLellan, TM; Lieberman, Hr.Do Energy Drinks Contain Active Components other than
Caffeine? Nutrition Reviews, 2012 Dec; Vol. 70 (12), pp. 730-44. Date of Electronic
Publication: 2012 Nov 09.
Meier, Barry. “More Emergency Visits Linked to Energy Drinks,” The New York Times Business
Day article January 11, 2013
Smith, Geraint. Three deaths linked to energy drink,Mail Online
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article59862 Retrieved Februray, 5,2013