Good news folks! New York’s Attorney General has undertaken an investigation of the energy drink industry, and according to the Wall Street Journal, subpoenas have been served on Monster and 5 Hour Energy. This is critically important because the Food and Drug Administration has refused to regulate this industry (they have good lobbyists). Energy Drink makers skirt around FDA regulation by claiming that they are dietary supplements rather than “beverages.”
Energy Drinks often do not disclose the true amount of caffeine in their product.
For example, Monster indicates that it has an “Energy Blend” which includes caffeine but they do not tell consumers how much caffeine is in the product. The product also contains Guarana and Panax Ginseng. Guarana is essentially caffeine, and Panax Ginseng is not supposed to be ingested with caffeine according to the NIH website. Hopefully New York’s investigation of this industry will save lives.
The personal injury lawyers at our law firm represent individuals who suffer injury or death as a result of consuming energy drinks. There are scientific articles that conclude that Energy Drinks impact the heart. People with known or unknown cardiac conditions should not be consuming energy drinks. Unfortunately, many energy drinks do not provide an adequate warning to consumers.