Girl dies after drinking an energy drink

Originally posted by birdyat101

Originally posted by ollncasino

Originally posted by buster2010
The parents have no case. The company didn't force the girl to drink them and she chose to ignore the warning. It's sad that she died but the company isn't at fault here. If a person dies in a car wreck from driving too fast should the family sue the car company?

I'm not sure that killing yourself by driving too fast and killing yourself by drinking 2 cans of high energy drink are quite analogous.

She was also only a girl of 14. I imagine that if the drink manufacturer knew or should have know that this aggravated a common condition that can lead to fatalities, the family may well have a case.

in the uk you have to be over 16 to buy it but i think there should be a law to have an age limit of 18

edit on 22-10-2012 by birdyat101 because: (no reason given)

And should be made worldwide, at least there's an age limit there.

reply to post by St0mP121

If the cars throttle stuck then yes they should sue the car co. If the car was setup to say blow up at 66 mph the car should be sold not to reach 66 mph.

I disagree with both analogy. Throttle stuck is a fault, that is equivalent to say, salmonella in the energy drink. The should not reach 66mph is already mentioned don the car, that's like saying, it is not my fault if i shoot at a hydrogen gas tank and hurt myself.

I do not think its the companies fault, I completely agree with your age limit idea which would fall under government regulation... but that would mean most store would need license to sell it and some might monopolize and increase the price of the product.. and that's a whole new can of worms.

Originally posted by Butter
Warning on a Monster can:

"Consume responsibly - limit 3 cans per day. Not recommended for children, pregnant women or people sensitive to caffine"

Last time I checked a child becomes an adult at 18 according to the law or 21. Which means that drink should be out of reach of children and locked up unless they present some type of ID to prove they are in fact an adult and of legal age to buy. Just like alcohol. The company is at fault because the drink is not regulated for children but they have a warning label not to give it to kids. But a kid can go out and buy it. Maybe it's the states fault as well for not regulating it. She should sue to at least get age limit passed on it. Just saying.

reply to post by Manhater


I think when involving OTC drugs etc, a child could be someone under age of 12. Thats my observation anyway,... i usually see that on cough medications and pain medications... "children under the age of 12"

Also it seems Canada is already up n the act...

As follows..

If the energy drink has a natural health product number (NPN) on the side of the can [look for the words NPN and an eight digit number] then it has been approved for sale. However, this does not mean it is safe for everyone. For example, pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid energy drinks.

In the year 2013, energy drinks will be classified as a food and be required to have a nutrition facts table. The new guidelines are expected to be released between April and October 2013. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will then be responsible for monitoring the safety and content of energy drinks.

ERO-FAQ

Originally posted by nixie_nox
She knows she has a heart condition and she drank two Monster drinks?

I think there if she felt the need to drink more then one, there maybe more going on here.

But the cans say to not drink more then one a day.

The Can's also say not to drink the product if you are sensitive to caffeine or if you are pregnant.

www.bing.com...

Originally posted by Manhater
There should be age limit on the drink, children don't need monster drinks. Especially 14 year olds.
RIP little one.

edit on 22-10-2012 by Manhater because: (no reason given)

My thoughts as well. Why would a 14 year old want or need a Monster Energy drink anyway?
Was she raving? When I was 14 we would slamming Yoohoo's or Grape Nehi's, (and a moon pie).
Anything with a health warning label on it should not be allowed to be purchases by such a young teen.

reply to post by ollncasino

I'm not sure that killing yourself by driving too fast and killing yourself by drinking 2 cans of high energy drink are quite analogous.

How are they not? If you use both products improperly it can cause your death. Dead is dead when you are responsible for your death it's the same thing.

They seem to pluck the figures out of thin air. Each ~500ml can of Monster is 160mg of caffeine so the figure of 480mg per 700ml can is WAY off. I mean, coffee often contains more caffeine than that.

Not to mention there is a warning on the can that it should only be consumed by those older than 16. Why did she have it? Did her parents buy her it?

So, many of you think it's the drink's fault?

We should get the government to enact new laws, ones that restrict the purchase of energy drinks. Anything that gives energy should only be purchasable by someone over 18, with ID. There should be a legal limit on how much a person can drink. After all, the drink is dangerous and we can't expect people to think for themselves, we have to protect them! If things with caffeine are readily available to anyone, anytime, imagine what harm these dangerous drinks could cause!
/sarcasm

Or, we could just leave it like it is now. If you know you have a heart issue and are sensitive to caffeine, maybe you should, i dont know, stay away from drinks with lots of caffeine?

If you try to prevent access to anything that "might" cause someone an issue, may as well ban chocolate, milk, anything with nuts, and coffee.

I am sad for this girl, but she did it to her self.

reply to post by buster2010


Exactly.

Lets put the numbers in perspective. According to "Go Ask Alice":

Coffee [1 cup (8 oz.): brewed, dripped, percolated] 135mg

Source

As I sit here and look at the back of my 16oz Rockstar, it says 80mg of caffeine with 2.5 servings in my can.

That would be a total of 200mg. That's 65mg more than a standard cup-o-joe.

Now, if this girl had a pre-existing medical condition, perhaps 480mg could cause problems. If you're dumb enough to drink something that you know could kill you, don't be surprised when it does.

Where are all the conservative/Republican people? "Personal responsiblity!" ... "Survival of the fittest!" ... This is right up their alley, and on this issue I could agree with them.

My can even says:

Not recomended for children, pregnant or nursing women, or those sensitive to caffeine

So, don't mess with my energy drinks. I don't like hot drinks, and unless I put tons of milk and sugar in it, I won't drink coffee.

You do not want to see me without my caffeine.

Theres a boy in my year -he's 17- and he drank about 4 of these during school and he was nearly being sick and everything.

He drinks them regularly and they are quite popular. I don't touch the stuff though, I've went 8 months without drinking fizzy juice or anything.

reply to post by xDeadcowx


Exactly, lets put restrictions on milk because I am lactose intollerant and may get sick. I can't be trusted to not buy milk. I might get sick and sue the company for making a product I knowing ingested that I know will make me ill.

Let's just keep protecting people from themselves so they can pass on their inferior genetic material, weakening our species and making it easier for Agenda 21 to work.

The caffeine focus is really a misnomer because these drinks mostly - and in this case - contain a myriad of stimulants in addition to caffeine.

The caffeine content of most Monster Energy drinks is approximately 10 mg/oz (33.81 mg/100ml),[6][7] or 160 mg for a 16 oz can. The packaging usually contains a warning label advising consumers against drinking more than 48 oz per day (16 oz per day in Australia). The UK and Europe do not have these warning labels. The drinks are not recommended for children, pregnant women or people sensitive to caffeine.

The ingredients include carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, taurine, sodium citrate, panax ginseng root extract, L-carnitine, caffeine, sorbic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, sodium chloride, glucuronolactone, inositol, guarana seed, pyridoxine, hydrochloride, sucralose, riboflavin, maltodextrin and cyanocobalamin.

Source

Without being a chemist, and without even Googling the individual ingredients, I count three very strong stimulants, other than caffeine, just off of the top of my head... ginseng, taurine, and guarana. Also some B nutrients that are probably cardiac stimulants as well.

~Heff

I don't understand how she could have consumed two of them. When the "energy drinks" first started popping up in store coolers one of my kids talked me into buying one for us to share just to try it out. We both puked our guts up! After that there was a no energy drinks allowed rule enacted at our house.

reply to post by natalia

I see the high school kids at walgreens in the morning a lot buying energy drinks-I do believe they should have an age limit on who buys them,but then again I've seen a parent buying their child of maybe 12 a red bull,it saddened me.

I've seen parents let their kids drink coffee and mountian dew, do you have a problem with that?

That stuff rots your teeth worse than soda too.
I'll stick with my coffee. Coffee, coffee, coffee.

Really? Talk bad about energy drinks AND soda, while praising YOUR caffeine drink of choice? Time to get off the soap box pal, your so jittery from your coffee, you might fall.

Each 0.7 liter can of Monster Energy contains 480 milligrams of caffeine, or the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola.

It sure does. It's the 3 serving can, it's huge. 3 servings. 3. Coca Cola does not really have a lot of caffeine it in. It's there, but it's not a big amount. What about Starbucks? Everyone wants to crack down on things that young people enjoy, but never talk about the things that have been around for quite some time and lots of other people enjoy.

The numbers at the end are in mg. Yup, that .7 liter can of Monster had 480mg, and one Grande Coffee has 320mg. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU HAD TWO GRANDES???

Coffee, generic brewed 8 oz. 133 (range: 102-200) (16 oz. = 266)
Coffee, generic instant 8 oz. 93 (range: 27-173)
Coffee, generic decaffeinated 8 oz. 5 (range: 3-12)
Starbucks Brewed Coffee (Grande) 16 oz. 320
Einstein Bros. regular coffee 16 oz. 300
Dunkin' Donuts regular coffee 16 oz. 206
Starbucks Vanilla Latte (Grande) 16 oz. 150
Starbucks Espresso, doppio 2 oz. 150
Starbucks Frappuccino Blended Coffee Beverages, average 9.5 oz. 115
Starbucks Espresso, solo 1 oz. 75
Einstein Bros. Espresso 1 oz. 75
Espresso, generic 1 oz. 40 (range: 30-90)
Starbucks Espresso decaffeinated 1 oz. 4

Here's the link to the caf info -

www.cspinet.org...

even if they put age limits and restrictions on these energy drinks like they do with alcohol and cigarettes, kids will still find ways to get them, no offence but an age limit means nothing to teens.

At the age of 13 i could get my hands on a bottle of vodka just by getting someone to bootleg it for me, ive been smoking since i was 13 too and i always managed to get my hands on them even though theres age limits on who can buy these, Where there is a will there is a way.
This girl was 14 and should have known what 2 monster energy drinks would do to her, Especially with her heart condition.

I Think The warning should be enough, there are plenty of things in this world people can buy that are just as dangerous or worse than an energy drink, there is no age limit on who can buy a coffee at tim hortons or starbucks, kids can even go to the dollar stores here in canada and buy tylenol and advil. People Just need to get educated and/or learn to read warning labels

If you drink 500mg of caffeine or more, you will hallucinate. Caffeine is a drug. Its ok in small portions but deadly like everything else in large portions.

Warning labels have become little more than a blur with everything you can imagine having one.