1. Kristina D’Arcangelo D’Arcangelo 1
Professor David DiSarro
English 101
04 February 2012
The Truth About Energy Drinks
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). 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 don’t know is that these drinks can lead to many
health problems such as dizziness, high blood pressure, obesity, heart attacks, and even death.
Studies found in 2010 alone, energy drinks represented a $6.7 billion industry in the
United States. The majority of these consumers were under the age of 35. 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 manufactures are not limited to amount of caffeine they use in the

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making of these drinks and they do not even have to disclose this information or other harmful
ingredients (McLellan and Lieberman). 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. 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, make
you jittery and unable to fall asleep. 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. 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. The combination of these ingredients in high dosages can be extremely
harmful to person’s health and can even cause death.(Loeb pgs 2-6).
Another dangerous fascination with energy drinks in mixing them with alcohol.
According to a survey, as many as 56% of college students reported they had mixed alcohol
with an energy drink. 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 pg 245). Also, alcohol severely dehydrates people, causing
intoxication. The high levels of caffeine and glucose in the energy drinks also causes

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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 persons height and weight.
This combination of alcohol and high levels of caffeine and other harmful ingredients can be
deadly. A British Website concurs, advising, “Redbull should not be drunk with alcohol, or after
exercising.” 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. 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. In 2007, 10,068 people reported emergency room visits again citing energy
drinks as the cause. 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 pg. 1). These statistics demonstrate
that the number of cases of emergency room visits in the United States double between 2007 and
2011. The New York Times stating that there were no results posted for 2012, suggests that
there is something to hide. The reason for no statistics posted for 2012 could be that the number
drastically increased since 2011, therefore they did not release the information.

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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.
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. Theaffects of this condition includes one of the heartvalves 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 was later med flighted to John Hopkins Hospital.
Doctors at the John Hopkins Hospital for forced to place her in an induced coma to keep her
brain from swelling, however 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.
Theparent 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.” 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. Her mother also stated, “These drinks are
death traps for young, developing girls and boys, like my daughter, Anais,” (Bonura pg. 1).

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Obviously, the Monster corporation is fighting the allegations, claiming that the
allegations of the product were not responsible for the death of Anais Fournier. However, one
study from a medical journal states, “Caffeine can be lethal in doses ranging from 200 to 400
milligrams.” 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, (Bonura pg. 2).
In conclusion, the use of energy drinks should be banned for the sale to adolescences, or
atleast regulated. The high levels of caffeine and other harmful 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. The
false advertisement aiming to adolescents is harmful 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
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.
Barry Meier, “More Emergency Visits Linked to Energy Drinks,” The New York Times
Business Day article January 11, 2013
Jonathan Howland, PhD, 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=1487124 January 16, 2013. Retrieved
Feburary, 03, 2013.
Geraint Smith, “Three deaths linked to energy drink,” Mail Online
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article59862 Retrieved Februray, 5,2013
Denise Bonura, “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