The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Connecticut proposes first in U.S. energy drink ban
HARTFORD — Whether Connecticut should be the first state to ban sales of energy drinks to people under 16 years of age was the subject of a legislative hearing Thursday.
No state has banned the sale of energy drinks to minors. South Carolina came closest last year after a high school student died from a caffeine overdose. But a proposed bill didn’t make it into law.
A similar law came close — but again failed to pass — last year in Great Britain.
Encouraging the Children’s Committee to make Connecticut the first state to take the bold step was Sally Mancini, director of Advocacy Resources at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.
“Based on the center’s research on this topic, we see a need for this regulation for three primary reasons: energy drink consumption is dangerous for children and teens; energy drink companies aggressively market their products to youth; and energy drinks are extremely accessible and widely purchased by adolescents,” Mancini said in submitted testimony.
Mancini said an American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement released in 2011, and reaffirmed in 2018, found “rigorous review and analysis of the literature reveal that caffeine and other stimulant substances contained in energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents.”
Further quoting from the policy statement, Mancini added: “Researchers have demonstrated that the high amounts of caffeine, together with other stimulants in energy drinks, lead to serious health effects, such as seizures, diabetes and cardiac abnormalities, especially in children, adolescents and young adults.”
Mancini said the total caffeine content in energy drink products typically ranges from 68 to 160 mg in a 16-ounce energy drink and 113 to 200 mg in a 2ounce energy shot (e.g., 5-hour energy); whereas most caffeinated sodas only contain approximately 35 mg of caffeine per 12-ounce container.
Also in favor of the legislation was Steven Hernandez, executive director on the Commission of Women, Children and Seniors.
“Children under the age of 16 sometimes have a less informed perspective” when it comes to purchasing drink products, Hernandez said. He added that research shows caffeine in high forms of concentration has “adverse effects on children, especially developing children.”
Under questioning from the committee, Hernandez said results of too much caffeine in children under age of 16 could be problems with overall energy and attention deficit issues as they go into adulthood.
But two representatives of the energy drink industry steadfastly defended their products and repeatedly stated that there is much higher levels of caffeine in a cup of “coffeehouse coffee” than there is in energy drinks.
“Energy drinks are safe. Energy drinks have been sold for 30 years in 170 countries,” said Joseph Lupino, director of public affairs for Red Bull.
Lupino stated an oftenheard comment from the industry — the American teens get more caffeine from tea and coffee than energy drinks.
Both he and Richard Adamson, consultant for the American Beverage Association, said the percentage of energy drinkers among teens is small compared to coffee drinkers.
And they both repeatedly stated the caffeine levels in coffee are much higher “ounce for ounce” than in energy drinks.
“Government and food agencies worldwide recognize that mainstream energy drinks are safe for consumption,” Adamson told the committee. He added: “Energy drinks contain half the caffeine of a drink from a coffeehouse and the same amount or lower than the coffee that you had in your own home this morning.”
Rep. Wilson Pheanious, D-Ashford, said she worries that “a substance like Red Bull would be more attractive to teenagers than coffee.”
Lupino responded: “I only wish that was case,” again rolling out statistics that he said showed teenagers are much more likely to sample coffee or tea than energy drinks.
Rep. Liz Linehan, DCheshire, said one issue she had with the level of caffeine argument in coffee or tea versus energy drinks is there are other ingredients in energy drinks that are not part of a cup of coffee or tea — and that would add to the equation some research shows the dangers of energy drinks on young people increases.
UConn’s Rudd Center’s Mancini made the same argument: “Energy drinks’ proprietary blends of stimulants have not been proven safe by independent researchers and cannot be tested because companies will not release the amounts of these ingredients in their products,” Mancini said.