Energy Drinks

[Iron-Hampster]

You have all seen/heard the horror stories of teenaged atheletes having fatal strokes, heart attacks and Cardiac Arests from these things every once in a while. Most experts would also agree that these things are one of the worst things for you to be drinking.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/stay-away-energ y-drinks-doctors-081150620.html

There are plenty of movements in favor of these things being outlawed due to how dangerous they are. If you look at an incident with "Monster: Nitrous" (this was enough to have the entire brand ilegalised in Canada) one was enough to cause fatalities for some people.

IMO: they should remain legal, but be given the cigarette treatment where they have to display warnings on their labels. Now grown adults have no excuses if these things cause harm to them. What to do with the children is a tricky one because they are pretty likely to ignore them and can not be given the responsability we are given in these descisions. Topping that its much worse for them.

your thoughts?

[Light]

They should remain legal.

We should just inform teens of the potential dangers of these products in any way we can. If necessary, we should restrict such products so that only adults can buy them.

I bought an energy drink today and was asked for ID. I was a little surprised by the request but I felt it was understandable.

[poxpower]

At 7/5/11 10:56 PM, Iron-Hampster wrote:

your thoughts?

The article you linked seems to be nothing but fear-mongering.
If the best they can come up with is "in some extremely rare cases, energy drinks may or may not be linked to various problems" then why would anyone waste their time legislating this?

By comparison, smoking kills millions of people a year worldwide.

[djack]

The cases where people die from energy drinks involve someone dumb enough to drink multiple cans in a short period of time or combine the drinks with alcohol so that you can't tell just how much you're drinking of either. I spent an entire month drinking red bull instead of eating breakfast (even one day where I replaced lunch and dinner with it as well) and I didn't experience any negative side effects because I didn't drink 5 of them in an hour. Unless you're a total dumbass energy drinks are safe and if you are a dumbass most people would agree that you don't deserve any sympathy after killing yourself with caffeine and sugar. As far as I'm concerned over use of energy drinks will get you about as much pity as morbid obesity.

[Iron-Hampster]

At 7/6/11 03:07 PM, RightWingGamer wrote: Stupid people do stupid things. It's a part of life. Natural selection doesn't favor people who are stupid enough to OD on caffeine.

Yet, even with these stupid people out there, alcohol and tobacco have been attributed to far more deaths than caffeine could ever have. So I really don't see the issue with energy drinks.

well thats one dark way of looking at it, but then you have to take children into account. are they at fault when they chose energy drinks? maybe they are, but should they be held to the same level of responsibility as grown adults and killed off for doing so? Even the smart kids do stupid things.

+ no one has meantioned the Nitrous incident where one drink was enough to kill somebody.

[djack]

At 7/6/11 09:09 PM, Iron-Hampster wrote:

At 7/6/11 03:07 PM, RightWingGamer wrote: Stupid people do stupid things. It's a part of life. Natural selection doesn't favor people who are stupid enough to OD on caffeine.

Yet, even with these stupid people out there, alcohol and tobacco have been attributed to far more deaths than caffeine could ever have. So I really don't see the issue with energy drinks.

well thats one dark way of looking at it, but then you have to take children into account. are they at fault when they chose energy drinks? maybe they are, but should they be held to the same level of responsibility as grown adults and killed off for doing so? Even the smart kids do stupid things.

+ no one has meantioned the Nitrous incident where one drink was enough to kill somebody.

If you're old enough to have a job to get money for the energy drinks there's no reason you shouldn't be held accountable for what you ingest. It's not like there's a bunch of infants downing red bull like it's the draino under the sink. Most of the "kids" who have an energy drink related death are more than old enough to be held responsible for the crap they put into their body and if they are young enough that their responsibility to be in question why are the parents not paying enough attention to realize that their kid is drinking enough caffeine to kill a horse.

[thegarbear14]

Just because something can be dangerous doesn't mean it should be banned. it warns people not to drink them quickly and i drink energy drinks sometimes. they are unhealthy and people do drink a lot of them. the people that harm themselves so badly with energy drinks are idiots and probably could hurt themselves with many things. just because someone can't be bothered to act responsibly doesn't mean something should be banned, and before i see the it isn't necessary argument look at tobacco,alcohol and cars. stupid people do stupid things.

[Proteas]

At 7/5/11 10:56 PM, Iron-Hampster wrote: your thoughts?

I think in your effort to get this article posted, you looked over something more dangerous to kids these days than energy drinks like Red Bullor Monster... cokes.

Recently, she saw a 15-year-old boy with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who came into the hospital with a seizure after having drunk two 24-ounce bottles of Mountain Dew, a soft drink that contains caffeine.

The boy was already taking stimulant ADHD medication, and the extra caffeine in principle might have pushed him over the edge, according to Benjamin.

Not every school has a Redbull vending machine in the cafeteria, but how many of them have coke machines?

By way of comparison, that kid downed 216 milligrams of caffeine from those two bottles of Mountain Dew, compared to the 160 milligrams he would have gotten from a can of Monster: Nitrous. Click.

[Gario]

There's already a warning label on them telling people to limit consumption to however much a day (on regular ol' Monsters I think the limit is 3 cans a day). If people feel like consuming more then they do so at their own risk.

As for children drinking it, it's really up to the parents, but common sense would dictate limiting too much sugar and caffeine for children.

Overall, I see absolutely no reason to ban energy drinks. They're not addictive (no more than anything else containing caffeine, anyway), the harm they can cause is pretty common knowledge, and there for those that don't know for some reason there are even appropriate warning labels on them. I think there more important things to worry about than energy drinks.

[kakalxlax]

those things are poison

[orangebomb]

It's very rare to see any types of serious complications or death by drinking energy drinks, and the only reason that happens is either they drink it in excess, or combined it with drugs and/or alcohol in excess. 1 or even 2 of them isn't enough to kill anyone, it simply isn't potent enough on its own to kill, even with the massive amounts of sugar and gurana that is contained in them.

Honestly, I don't know why the government is going after energy drinks, especially if they don't go ban tobacco or alcohol over the last 75 years or so. Plus, a bottle of Venom Energy is better than any coffee IMO, even if it does make you a little twitchy.

[miner08]

"At 7/6/11 04:52 AM, Jedi-Master wrote:

They should remain legal.

We should just inform teens of the potential dangers of these products in any way we can. If necessary, we should restrict such products so that only adults can buy them.

I bought an energy drink today and was asked for ID. I was a little surprised by the request but I felt it was understandable."

I agree. I think the warning label should be enough with the ID and age limit. I have to admit I wouldn't be happy without them. I use them to get an extra few hours in a day of work.

[Halberd]

They should stay legal, people don't often die from them and usually if they do its because of other things (stupidity, heart problems, old age, drinking too much of it etc.)

Not saying I like them much though. A lot of the people I know who have been drinking V energy drink/Guarana energy drink from a young age ended up turning into eccentric pricks somehow/

[thegarbear14]

At 7/11/11 10:18 AM, orangebomb wrote: It's very rare to see any types of serious complications or death by drinking energy drinks, and the only reason that happens is either they drink it in excess, or combined it with drugs and/or alcohol in excess. 1 or even 2 of them isn't enough to kill anyone, it simply isn't potent enough on its own to kill, even with the massive amounts of sugar and gurana that is contained in them.

Honestly, I don't know why the government is going after energy drinks, especially if they don't go ban tobacco or alcohol over the last 75 years or so. Plus, a bottle of Venom Energy is better than any coffee IMO, even if it does make you a little twitchy.

probably easy to scare people about "these dangerous new drinks" lol they aren't that dangerous if you limit the amount you drink.

[orangebomb]

At 7/12/11 02:24 AM, thegarbear14 wrote:

At 7/11/11 10:18 AM, orangebomb wrote: It's very rare to see any types of serious complications or death by drinking energy drinks, and the only reason that happens is either they drink it in excess, or combined it with drugs and/or alcohol in excess. 1 or even 2 of them isn't enough to kill anyone, it simply isn't potent enough on its own to kill, even with the massive amounts of sugar and gurana that is contained in them.

Honestly, I don't know why the government is going after energy drinks, especially if they don't go ban tobacco or alcohol over the last 75 years or so. Plus, a bottle of Venom Energy is better than any coffee IMO, even if it does make you a little twitchy.

probably easy to scare people about "these dangerous new drinks" lol they aren't that dangerous if you limit the amount you drink.

That's exactly what I was saying. The government has a habit of trying to finding scapegoats for certain problems for a long time, {i.e rock and roll, video games and the like.} it's almost becoming a sad little joke that won't end.

[thegarbear14]

At 7/12/11 10:07 AM, orangebomb wrote:

At 7/12/11 02:24 AM, thegarbear14 wrote:

At 7/11/11 10:18 AM, orangebomb wrote: It's very rare to see any types of serious complications or death by drinking energy drinks, and the only reason that happens is either they drink it in excess, or combined it with drugs and/or alcohol in excess. 1 or even 2 of them isn't enough to kill anyone, it simply isn't potent enough on its own to kill, even with the massive amounts of sugar and gurana that is contained in them.

Honestly, I don't know why the government is going after energy drinks, especially if they don't go ban tobacco or alcohol over the last 75 years or so. Plus, a bottle of Venom Energy is better than any coffee IMO, even if it does make you a little twitchy.

probably easy to scare people about "these dangerous new drinks" lol they aren't that dangerous if you limit the amount you drink.

That's exactly what I was saying. The government has a habit of trying to finding scapegoats for certain problems for a long time, {i.e rock and roll, video games and the like.} it's almost becoming a sad little joke that won't end.

so far i would say they have used all of these (marijuana, alcohol, firearms, rock and roll, video games, and drugs.) it's funny when someone says to me marijuana and alcohol are one of those things that is used to scare people but when it comes to firearms it is a way to prevent crime and protect us or when they say video games are a waste of time so they should just be banned. if they can scare you into voting for them they have more power and money and that is the person who makes this crap ups goal.

[Ericho]

At 7/12/11 11:43 AM, thegarbear14 wrote: it's funny when someone says to me marijuana and alcohol are one of those things that is used to scare people but when it comes to firearms it is a way to prevent crime and protect us

The thing is that could go either way. Guns could be used to protect or hurt people. A ton of things are like that, such as fire. I would have to say that I am probably in favor of the second amendment because it's our right as well as it being our right to use recreational drugs.

[Ravariel]

It's like when a couple of kids took some Mini-Thins, then ran wind-sprints in 95 degree weather without drinking any water and died from heatstroke. It must have been the ephedrine! Totally!

[Atlas]

At 7/6/11 04:52 AM, Jedi-Master wrote: They should remain legal.

We should just inform teens of the potential dangers of these products in any way we can. If necessary, we should restrict such products so that only adults can buy them.

I bought an energy drink today and was asked for ID. I was a little surprised by the request but I felt it was understandable.

That sounds like a great idea to warn the people. Because even if we outlaw energy drinks it will end up like crack being sold all the time and then eventually legalized. Also there was this soccer player either in his 20's or in he was 32 and died of a heart attack and then was red carded because the ref thought that was un sportsman like, It was probably caused by energy drinks and working hard.

[HasJoinedYourParty]

I think it should be regulated. Most of our water plants cannot process caffeine, by that i mean they aren't meant to remove caffeine. So i.e. our water could contain caffeine, thus things living in the water like fish may collect trace amounts causing an effect on us and animals that rely on fish as a food source. Now before you get riled up I'm not saying "we're all doomed cause of caffeine fish!" I'm saying we need a way to effectively control the chemicals like caffeine, Taurine, and others like in energy drinks and coffee.

[altanese-mistress]

Energy drinks can be bad for your heart and kidneys, folks.

In other news, cheese is fattening, and weight-related diseases are one of the leading causes of death in this country (USA). Also alcohol has zero positive effects on the body save a fleeting numb high. In a related story prostitution fuels human trafficking (modern slavery) and helps promote other crimes such as drug peddling. On a final note, there are more violent crimes in places where restrictions on gun sales are weakest.

I think there are things that need much tighter control than energy drinks.

[TheDandiestSon]

Just wanted to warn you all,that taken from some of my sooper seacrit sources in the Canadian Government,energy drinks give you face cansur!Noe!

In all seriousness,I've downed a Red Bull(which tates like carbonated piss,by the way)and the most I got out of it was an increased heartrate for,and hour.Keep in mind,I was twelve at that point.I agree that energy drinks should be illegal,NOT for the safety issues,or LACK THEROF,but rather because they all taste like pomegranate-flavoured arsenic to me.

[BACONIDI]

I aint had any problems with these yet and I drink em like a fish in water.

[Boxxy]

When I was in the 7th grade, my geography teacher (who was awesome) told us that he had this student who was drinking so many of them that he needed them just to get through the day eventually. I don't know about making them illegal, that seems weird for you know, an energy drink lol.

[cannibalocalypse]

I fucking hate people.

[bigredone]

Gona do a quicky. They should remain legal but the labels dont matter. I think its like reverse psychology, the bigger danger label makes you want to smoke more to show off that your a rebel.

[oisin9724]

In my experience a litre of red bull will give you a few ulsers on your toungue a very sore stomach and bad diarrhea.

[Shaggytheclown17]

Hmm, well the warining is for children and people who are sensitive to caffeine n prolly a couple others, but that doesn't mean it should be illegal, next thing they'll want to outlaw coffee.
The one energy drink I like best is rockstar, i like it most because of the taste but it has some really good vitamins in it as well, but obviously I don't drink it every day, caffein is a stimulant and like most things too much of it will kill you, too much water in your system can kill you too but they don't have a law that limits how much water people can drink.....

And there is the FDA thingy which I always laugh at, "not intended to diagnose,treat, or cure andy disease."
They say that about anything that has vitamins in it including vitamin pills themselves, obviously lots of diseases are caused by a lack of nutrients in the body, namely vitamin C because it helps your immune system which can fight off and CURE some minor illnesses and maybe keep you from getting them as well.

I'm sure people who have seen me here in the past know the stance I had on the FDA drug thing n the natural alternatives that they seem to shy away from and maybe even suppress, it hasn't changed much.

Well got a lil bit off topic but yeah, I say they wouldn't dare outlaw energy drinks because they sell good and people who drink them and die probably were the people who it warns against drinking them, theres a thing of common sense about it really, I mean you prolly wont see a warning on a box of kitchen knives "warning, do not put in your eyes, ears,nose, do not stab yourself with them."

[Shaggytheclown17]

At 7/16/11 03:18 AM, HasJoinedYourParty wrote: , Taurine, and others like in energy drinks and coffee.

Like I said you can't regulate it lol
I've also heard that taurine as well as another nutrient called L-carnitine are both made by our own body naturally, so it just gives us a boost like what energy drinks are meant for.

Also another thing, that 5 hour energy stuff, I'v never tried it but I already don't like it, I mean you spend like 4$ on a tiny lil bottle? Shit, at least water it down with something so people can actually get some kind of satisfaction of drinking something instead of having be one small super concentrated dose.