Business Management, Medicine

Stop- in the name of love!

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Just so you know this is important, I am breaking into my queue to alert you- and everyone you know- about this breaking news. It is yet another means that our society gets corrupted. We- you and me- have to stop this- to protect our youth- and our adults.

A subtle change- many of you, who don’t believe the consequences-  is taking place. Monster Beverage, the producer of those “energy drinks”, and Rockstar Energy, are changing tactics. I’m sure the other segment producers will follow suit.  After years of claiming what they sell is a dietary supplement, they are now demanding to be regulated (not!) as a beverage.

Letter to FDA about Energy Drinks

Why would they do so? Because as a beverage, these companies will no be longer required to report adverse events to the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration). Since 1993, the FDA required the reporting of all adverse events – from manufacturers and physicians and health care professionals, among others- to make sure that there is no chance we have missed any potential problems with our drugs, devices, and other regulated items. Dietary supplements are regulated as part of this process.

The USDA and the FDA do not consider “energy drinks”, the term coined by the industry to cover beverages that “contain caffeine in combination with other ingredients such as taurine, guarana, and B vitamins, and that claims to provide its consumers with extra energy”, to be a category in and of itself. Caffeine, itself,  has been determined to be GRAS (generally recognized as safe) for nigh 53 years- but only for those items that contain less than 200 mg/L (200 ppm) of the substance. But, since caffeine is not considered a nutrient, there is no requirement that its concentration be reported on the label of an “energy drink” product.

The FDA does, as I stated above,  regulate dietary supplements. That means that the numerous energy drinks and shots (some 25 or so currently exist) are regulated and must comply with DSHEA (the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Action of 1994). There are regulations that require the label to include various pieces of data and that the product is a dietary “supplement”.

Over the years, the FDA has received many reports of deaths and injuries resulting from the ingestion of these “energy drinks”. (Monster and 5 Hour Energy Drink, among many such reports. ) Now, the reporting of an adverse event does not prove or disprove that the product had a role in the death or injury to a person, because there are many possibilities that could lead to such trauma. (For example, one such adverse event was the death of a subject during a clinical trial of a new drug/device- but it turned out that the person died of injuries subsequent to an automobile accident he sustained.)

Just this week, the letter above was sent to the FDA demanding action- to protect younger folks (adolescents and children) from the dangers of ingesting these high caffeine drinks. These respected physicians cited real threats to the health of our younger folks. (Don’t be fooled- these drinks are dangerous for us all.) Specific deaths, visits to emergency rooms, cardiovascular complications, seizures, and other health issues were delineated.

So, to stop this restriction of their markets, these energy drink marketers are trying to find a means to escape regulation. By becoming beverages. So, no more adverse event reporting. No more regulation as that specialty beverage, that got you to buy them in the first place. And, for the first time, the labeling of caffeine levels in their drinks.

Now, these manufacturers all claim their beverages are safe. They claim they are changing their marketing so they will not be misunderstood, and so that their labels will be better understood. Of course, the increased regulatory oversight of their manufacturing practices- that will now cease- had nothing to do with these changes. And, the hope that the change will not regulate them out of their biggest market- those who do not understand the risks the beverages pose to their health.

But, another reason for this change may be that the beverages will now be allowed to be purchased under SNAP (what used to be known as Food Stamps, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program).

Don’t let this go unnoticed. Tell everyone that these health risks are real. We must keep these beverages from reaching our children, our college youth. I, personally believe, we must keep these beverages from adults who consider their rampant use to be safe, as well.

What about you?

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37 thoughts on “Stop- in the name of love!”

  1. I am disgusted by the whole food and drug industry. The more I learn, the more I understand about how greed can bring companies and people to a new low. All these companies that are selling this crap to the general public should have to pay for our health care costs. We have them to thank for our health crisis. I will be sure to share this, Roy.
    Suerae Stein recently posted..Compassion Fatigue

  7. Yeah I shared this all over the place. I’ve never had an energy drink, and I doubt I ever will. I’m like liquid crack already without all that mess, and the last thing I’d need to get jacked up on something like this. And if they don’t have to report to someone I can only imagine what hexenbrau they will swill in. As humans we seem to see what messed up stuff we can put into our bodies and still live…Thank you for the warning Roy!
    Lisa recently posted..Neon Glow Butterfly Phase 2 by Lisa Brandel

  8. This is disgusting! Every young adult I know drinks these, including my son. I’ve tweeted and posted on my Facebook page. I have some young adult relatives as my Facebook friends. I hope they read your blog post through and think twice….

  10. Well, it looks like these companies could get away with murder. They set up those huge marketing campaigns and lure our kids into buying their products. It is disgusting. I try to educate my daughters but what it they don’t believe me? Enough of such crap.
    MuMuGB recently posted..Stuck In The Past

  11. I never did like these energy drinks and I think I have finally convinced our son to not drink them anymore. Since he has gone to college he is a huge water drinker (takes after his mom, *wink*). Glad you shared this information Roy, it is certainly a concern that parents should be made aware of as it can be confusing at times.
    Lynn Brown recently posted..Building A Dynasty Turning Your Beliefs Into Reality

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