Energy Drink - Health Concerns and Sales Restrictions

Health Concerns and Sales Restrictions

The popular energy drink Red Bull did not get market approval in France after the death of an 18-year-old Irish athlete, Ross Cooney, who died within hours after playing a basketball game and consuming four cans of the product. This market approval was challenged in the European Court of Justice in 2004, and consequently lifted. Norway did not allow Red Bull for a while, although this has recently been revoked. The United Kingdom investigated the drink, but only issued a warning against its consumption by children and pregnant women.

In November 2012, President Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya ordered his government to develop a bill banning the sale of energy drinks, arguing that as a form of "intoxicating drug", such drinks were "unacceptable in a Muslim society". Kadyrov cited reports of one death and 530 hospital admissions in 2012 due to "poisoning" from the consumption of such drinks. A similar view was expressed by Gennady Onishchenko, Chief Sanitary Inspector of Russia.

In 2009, a school in Hove, England requested that local shops refrain from selling energy drinks to students. Headteacher Malvina Sanders added that "This was a preventative measure, as all research shows that consuming high-energy drinks can have a detrimental impact on the ability of young people to concentrate in class." The school negotiated for their local branch of the Tesco supermarket to display posters asking students not to purchase the products. Similar measures were taken by a school in Oxted, England, which banned students from consuming drinks and sent letters to parents.

Some countries have certain restrictions on the sale of the drinks. Energy drinks are regulated under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code; limiting the caffeine content of soft-drinks at 145 mg/L (4.29 mg/oz) and 'formulated caffeinated beverages' (energy drinks) at 320 mg/L (9.46 mg/oz). Mandatory caffeine labeling is issued for all food products containing guarana. On June 7, 2012, the parliament of Latvia approved changes in the legislation of sale of consumable goods, to prohibit sale of energy drinks to persons under the age of 18.