This blog previously wrote about the dangers that energy drinks are posing to children, teens and young adults across Texas and the United States as a whole, including the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of a 14-year-old girl who died after drinking two cans of Monster energy drink.
A new study by released by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sheds new light on just how serious the problem has become. According to the study, emergency room visits related to the consumption of energy drinks doubled between 2007 and 2011, from around 10,000 to more than 20,000. And the most common age group of people making these ER visits was between the ages of 18 and 25.
– Article By Richard Weaver
Energy drink makers deny that their drinks cause health problems and deaths, arguing that people had other health conditions that were responsible. But sales of energy drinks increased by nearly 17 percent in 2011, and the increased ER visits are an alarming trend.
One ER doctor told the story of a young man who came in with a racing heart and difficulty breathing. The man had consumed energy drinks with alcohol, and the combination had dehydrated him so much that he was suffering from kidney failure.
The doctor said that he is now seeing similar cases twice a month versus the one or two he used to get every three months a few years ago.
The problem with energy drinks is that many consumers don’t know the dangers that they pose. And many young adults mix them with alcohol. The combination can be deadly, and the drink makers do nothing to discourage people from buying them.
Source: Associated Press, “Energy Drink-Related ER Visits Double In Just A Few Years: Survey,” Garance Burke, Jan. 16, 2013
