Monster Energy, an energy drink popular with many people as a pick-me-up, is undergoing massive attack due to the recent death of a young girl.
In December 2011, a 14-year-old girl from Maryland, after drinking two 24oz cans of Monster Energy, died of cardiac arrest and last week, her mother filed a lawsuit against Monster Beverage, a subsidiary of Hansen Natural, saying that they failed to warn people about the risks of the energy drinks and that the drinks themselves pose risk and threat to people.
Monster Energy is an energy drink similar to many others, such as Red Bull, 5-hour Energy and Rockstar, that actively campaigns itself to the young adult group. Such drinks contain massive amounts of caffeine, and in the case of Monster Energy, it contains 240 milligrams of caffeine in a 24oz can. In comparison, a 24oz cup of coffee contains around 200 milligrams of caffeine, but Monster Energy packs more nutrients and ingredients that supposedly helps keep you awake like Taurine, Ginseng and Vitamin B. Since even drinking one 24oz can of Monster Energy is harmful to a young adult, drinking two cans would be excessive.
In just the past week, Monster Beverage’s stock has dipped 14%, indicating a loss of consumer confidence in the company. Many people including Sen. Richard Durban, a Democrat from Illinois, have been urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce caffeine levels in energy drinks, but the FDA claimed that it had insufficient evidence to do such an action. As set by the FDA a while back, soft drinks have a restriction on how much caffeine they can contain, but energy drinks do not have such a restriction. Due to this leeway, Monster Energy, compared to popular soft drinks such as Coca-Cola or Fanta, has seven to eight times the amount of caffeine.
