[cid:_2_0DA88E280DA88BBC006A24B585257D03] We just released the latest data from our FOIA request on deaths and injuries linked to energy drinks. Please let me know if you have questions -- and feel free to forward widely: the links is: http://www.cspinet.org/new/201406251.html In our letter to FDA, we ask the agency to: · Issue a public health warning to discourage people, especially those under 18, from consuming energy drinks and suggest to state and localities that they bar the sale of energy drinks to people under 18. · Initiate a rulemaking to require that all beverages consumed in a soda-like manner, including energy drinks, comply with the same regulations that limit caffeine in “cola-type beverages” (0.02%, or 71 milligrams per 12 ounces, see21 C.F.R. § 182.1180). · Initiate a rulemaking to require warning labels on energy drinks to alert consumers of the possible risk of heart attack, convulsion, and other adverse reactions. · Initiate a thorough and independent study of the safety of these ingredients, both alone and in combination with each other in formulations typical of energy drinks. Sample social media posts: Facebook: * 17 reasons that energy drinks should come with a warning label: the 17 deaths linked to them since 2012: http://www.cspinet.org/new/201406251.html * Energy drinks linked to deaths in new release of government information -- 34 deaths since 2004 and counting: http://www.cspinet.org/new/201406251.html Twitter: * Please RT the label: https://twitter.com/CSPI/status/481853070276837377 * 17 deaths since 2012 = 17 reasons NOT to drink energy drinks: http://www.cspinet.org/new/201406251.html Please join the campaign! And let me know if you have questions. All best, Laura Laura MacCleery Chief Regulatory Affairs Attorney Center for Science in the Public Interest Washington, DC Direct: 202-777-8343 Cell: 202-489-7147 Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> [cid:_1_0DA8D6740DA8C6F0006A24B585257D03] For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Contact: Jeff Cronin<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, 202-777-8370 or Ariana Stone<mailto:[log in to unmask]>, 202-777-8355 Documents Link More Deaths to Energy Drinks CSPI Asks FDA for Labels Warning of Heart Attack, Convulsion, and Other Adverse Reactions Linked to Energy Drinks WASHINGTON—Documents obtained from the Food and Drug Administration show that since late 2012, 17 previously unreported deaths have been linked to the controversial caffeinated beverages known as energy drinks. According to adverse event reports collected by the agency since 2004, a total of 34 deaths have now been linked to energy drinks. Of those, 22 deaths have been linked to 5-Hour Energy, 11 deaths have been linked to Monster, and one death, a first, has been linked to Rockstar. Excluding a suicide, these deaths include the 17 deaths previously disclosed by the agency and reported on<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/business/fda-receives-death-reports-citing-monster-energy-a-high-caffeine-drink.html?_r=1&> by the New York Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/business/5-hour-energy-is-cited-in-13-death-reports.html?_r=0> and other media outlets in the fall of 2012. And these deaths don’t necessarily include other deaths reported in the media, such as that of 16-year-old Lanna Hamman of Arizona<http://time.com/2894272/social-media-campaign-takes-aim-at-red-bull-following-teens-death/>, who died on vacation on June 14 in Mexico after consuming several cans of Red Bull. And, of course, some deaths might have been caused by energy drinks without doctors making that association. The reports do not prove that energy drinks actually caused the deaths. Two years ago the FDA told Congress that it was investigating the reports that it had received, but it has not yet released a report to Congress or the public. In addition to the newly disclosed deaths, 56 previously undisclosed injuries have been reported to the FDA through its adverse event reporting system. These and other serious events resulted in 54 hospitalizations, as recorded in the adverse event reports, with consumers experiencing high blood pressure, convulsions, heart attacks, and other problems after drinking energy drinks. The documents were obtained under Freedom of Information Act requests by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest<http://cspinet.org/images/foia-energy-drinks.pdf> and a lawyer representing the parents<http://cspinet.org/images/hhs-reports.pdf> of a Maryland teenager who died<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/monster-energy-drink-maker-sued-for-14-year-olds-death/> after consuming two 24-ounce Monster beverages. “As I see in my medical practice, energy drinks are clearly causing symptomatic arrhythmias,” said Dr. Stacy Fisher, director of complex heart diseases at University of Maryland School of Medicine. “These new reports of deaths and other injuries raise the level of concern about the adverse effects of energy drinks.” CSPI today asked FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg to require warning labels on energy drink containers<http://cspinet.org/images/letterenergydrinks.pdf> notifying consumers of the risk of heart attack, convulsion, and other adverse reaction to energy drinks. As a further precaution, the group asked the agency to require manufacturers to lower caffeine levels in the drinks to 0.02 percent, or 71 milligrams per 12 ounces—the maximum amount the FDA considers safe in cola-style beverages. Also, CSPI asked the agency to require careful studies on the health effects of the various chemical and herbal ingredients (such as taurine, glucuronolactone, carnitine, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, milk thistle extract, and guarana seed) used in energy drinks and their possible interactions with caffeine. [cid:_2_0F5D1FE40DA1F9BC006A24B585257D03] Warning labels such as this one on energy drink containers would inform consumers of their dangerous--and possibly deadly--risks. “How many deaths will it take to get the FDA to protect consumers from energy drinks, with their high levels of caffeine and untested herbal and chemical ingredients?” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Since the first batch of adverse event reports became public, the death count has essentially doubled, with dozens more injured. Yet the FDA is just standing by—no public warnings, no regulations, no testing required—nothing.” Besides the health risks posed by the combination of caffeine and supplement ingredients in energy drinks, some products are also high in sugars. One 8.4-ounce of non-diet Red Bull contains 110 calories from almost 7 teaspoons of added sugars, a 16-ounce can of Monster has 200 calories from 13.5 teaspoons of added sugars, and a 24-ounce can of Rockstar has 420 calories from 23 teaspoons of added sugars. To put those numbers into context, the American Heart Association recommends that men consumer no more than nine teaspoons of added sugars per day and that women consume no more than six teaspoons. Sugar-sweetened beverages promote weight gain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems. # # # View this release online.<http://cspinet.org/new/201406251.html> The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, that focuses on nutrition and food safety policies. CSPI is supported by the 900,000 U.S. and Canadian subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants. Like us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/cspinet> at http://www.facebook.com/cspinet Follow us on Twitter<http://twitter.com/cspi> at http://twitter.com/cspi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe from CSPI news releases, reply to this message with the word 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. Click here to edit your preferences.<http://www.cspinet.org/new/newsjournal.html> Communications Department Center for Science in the Public Interest 1220 L St., NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 332-9110 [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ssb listserv" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.