Saturday, March 7, 2015

Essay on Energy Drinks should be Banned

A few months ago, the analytical and research agency Packaged Facts (PF) noted a sharp increase in the demand for energy drinks. According to the PF experts, the revenue from the sales of this category of products will exceed $21.5 billion by 2017. For comparison, the legendary Coca-Cola Corporation, providing water dispensers all over the world, earns about $47 billion annually.

However, this week, the popular energy drinks industry attracted attention of the US Congress. 

Several senators and House members said they intend to restrict or even ban the sale of the caffeinated beverages. The Bill, which is destined to drop the production of energy drinks to the level that was decades ago, most likely, will bear the name of Anais Fournier, 14-year-old resident of Maryland, who died a year and a half ago after she drunk two cans (volume of each was 24-ounce) containing huge doses of caffeine.


The child death forced the US Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an impromptu survey,which quite unexpectedly revealed that every month more than 2.000 inhabitants of the United States have been treated in the emergency rooms with problems caused by the energy drinks.


Non-profit organizations, calling for a healthy lifestyle, instantly published their own statistics: hundreds of Americans die annually after drinking caffeinated beverages, while thousands more have different physical and mental injury. However, the official figures do not appear anywhere else, because doctors do not consider caffeine drinks like substance, threatening human life.

In my opinion, the need to ban energy drinks throughout the country is long overdue. However, until recently, the manufacturers of the caffeine containing poison have always found a way to talk around disgruntled politicians and other public figures.

For example, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg supported by Attorney General Eric Schniederman, stated once that he is going to closely control the energy drinks production. As soon as the media began to discuss this initiative, the head of the Big Apple switched to cigarettes, junk food, chips, chocolate, Cola, salty food, etc. Why Bloomberg has not fulfilled his promise is known to no one. Perhaps he found the taxes from the energy drink production financially viable for the city. 

It is also possible that large corporations have found a way to settle the matter "behind closed doors."

Today, energy drinks are sold freely in New York and other cities in America. They are on the shelves with orange juice, milk, cold tea, sprite, coke, and drinking water. Thre is no kind of warning that distinguishes them from other liquids. "Energy drinks are the most uncontrolled food product, says the addiction medicine expert Rick Swenson. During the day, you can drink a gallon of milk and feel fine, but should you drink a gallon of caffeinated beverage you will have increased heart rate. In any case, at the time of the transaction the seller not will ask you a single word."