I constantly hear the crisp snap of an energy drink being opened while sitting at my desk at school due to the increased popularization of caffeinated drinks among high schooler.
While scrolling on social media, I constantly see a trend revolving around people crushing the empty cans of their energy drinks, occasionally with the caption “heart attack szn [season].” This is because energy drinks are normalizing overconsumption of caffeine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies energy drinks as beverages that have high amounts of caffeine, added sugars, other additives and legal stimulants. According to Mayo Clinic Health System, energy drinks possess an average amount of 100-300 milligrams caffeine per serving. Despite this, the Columbia University Irving Medical Center said that adolescents between 12-17 years old should have less than 100 milligrams of caffeine every day, while the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested adolescents should forgo energy drinks in general. This is seemingly ignored or unknown by adolescents as according to John Hopkins Medicine, studies have discovered that about one-third of teenagers ages 12 to 17 drink energy drinks regularly, and they are still growing in popularity.
Such caffeine guidelines for adolescents are established for good reason because of risks associated with overconsumption of caffeine. Mayo Clinic shared that more than 400 milligrams of caffeine a day can lead to headaches, insomnia, nervousness, irritability, fast heartbeat, palpitations, agitation, indigestion, tremors and can cause an increased risk of other addictive behaviors. However, even more rapid consumption of caffeine, such as 1,200 milligrams, can induce toxic effects such as seizures.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Healthy Children Organization, there was a 24% rise in calls regarding young people with reactions to energy drinks in 2023 to poison control centers, and caffeine related visits to the U.S. emergency departments almost doubled with middle and high schoolers between 2017 and 2023. Teenagers are drinking more and more energy drinks and caffeine. Regardless of access to such research and evidence of harmful effects, energy drink brands still choose to advertise primarily to adolescents, choosing profit over the people, which is unacceptable and hurting adolescents.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal said that energy drink marketing aims to capture the attention of adolescents through deliberately designed campaigns and sponsorships. The Journal of Health and Biomedical Law lists brands that have been at the center of these allegations, such as Alani Nutrition. However, the brands with the most notable accusations have been Ghost and Prime Energy. This is because Ghost has used influencers that create content mainly for younger audiences to market their drinks. They also have used candy brands that are popular among adolescents and younger kids, such as Sour Patch Kids, to flavor and package their energy drinks. Meanwhile, Prime faced scrutiny for very similar caffeinated and non-caffeinated cans, which were misleading to children. Adolescents are seeing energy drinks being marketed towards them and supported by people they look up to and so they buy them themselves, as well as to experience the benefits promoted by energy drinks. This in turn encourages their peers to try energy drinks because now seemingly the majority are drinking them.
Energy drinks brands are aware of the health risks and guidelines suggested, and still encourage adolescents to drink their beverages, which leads to the caffeine amounts being normalized. It is better to find alternatives to them. Despite seeing their peers with these colorful cans, teenagers need to stop drinking energy drinks because the caffeine is nothing to brush aside.
