Energy Drinks
Posted Sep 25, 2011 06:07:39 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Should energy drinks be banned?
An expert panel for Health Canada wants tighter restrictions placed on drinks like Red Bull, Rockstar and Monster. They say the popular drinks should be renamed “stimulant drug containing drinks” and sold only under the direct supervision of a pharmacist.
Massimo Marcone, Professor of Food Science at the University of Guelph, was a guest on 570’s Jeff Allan Show. He says energy drinks are products that definitely need a closer look. But, he thinks that Health Canada will have a difficult time regulating them because each product in itself has a different composition. Having them dispensed at pharmacies may not be the best choice in order to regulate them.
Marcone says they should go a step further, by regulating energy drinks like cigarettes, where there is a particular age that you can purchase them.
Marcone says the real reason young people are attracted to these beverages is because of the advertising; bright labels, and flashy commercials.
Opponents to the ban on energy drinks are wondering when the line will be drawn, and ask if coffee will be next on the hit list.
Marcone says there is a big difference between energy drinks and coffee. Beverages like Red Bull tend to have a lot of sugar in them, which targets the sweet tooth in young adults, where as coffee is much more generic.
Another problem with these companies is that they show up at events like hockey and soccer games, where young people tend to hang out. Marcone says there are laws in place to try and stop them from just handing free samples out, but they aren’t very tight. In The U.S. they are not allowed to just give out free products, so people leave a penny behind and you can pick up your bottle.
If used responsibly, Marcone says there is no harm in having the occasional energy drink. But the problem with that is that young people do not have the education or discipline to drink them properly.
The bottom line according to Marcone is that there is a dialogue going on now, which is the first step. We can determine as a society what is most important for our children. At the same time, he says we have to respect that these products are for sale legally and they fall under the regulations so we can’t really stop them…for now.
