Students and energy drinks: A call for better warning labels on energy drinks

by DrinkNetwork

Published on Wed Mar 25 19:28:37 2009

This is part four of a six part series. Click on the below links to access the other parts.

Energy drink companies don't recommend surpassing three energy drinks in a day but most students over consume a lot things, especially freshmen and their "freshmen 15".

In fact, there is a small disclaimer on most cans that reads, "Limit three cans per day. Not recommended for children, pregnant women or people sensitive to caffeine." Depending on the size of the energy drink, that number can vary.

But is that enough to keep the over-doers at bay?

"Some labeling is better than none," says Chad J. Reissig, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at John Hopkins School of Medicine.

It's obvious that you can't fit all the risks on the side of one can, he says. "One thing I would like to see (on the labels) is how much caffeine is in one energy drink."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the reason why the FDA hasn't gone through proper screening of energy drinks is because it labels the drinks as dietary supplements. All of a sudden, it goes under the radar, with companies packing as much caffeine as they want into these drinks.

"What it comes down to is that 80 to 90 percent of the world drinks caffeine everyday," says Reissig. "And generally speaking, there are no health problems. That's why the Food and Drug Administration isn't doing much in the way of prevention."

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