ABA | Caffeine and You

Beverage Lobby Says Caffeine’s Not a Drug. Really?

February 24, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

The ABA Says Caffeine Is Not a Drug. Really?

In a 2011 news release, the American Beverage Association (ABA) has actually stated, “caffeine is not a drug.” It also says caffeine is a stimulant.

Conflicting statements don’t do much for credibility, and misleading statements chip away at consumer safety. Caffeine is classified as a drug, a type of central nervous system stimulant; the FDA considers it both a drug and a food additive. Naturally, the ABA has a mission to boost profits for its members. But by making caffeine confusing, beverage makers undermine the public’s ability to consume caffeine safely and responsibly.

Read the full ABA press release

Energized Number Crunching: Energy Drinks

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

I wanted to know how energy drinks compared to soft drinks and coffee in terms of caffeine amounts. After all, energy drinks are sweet, carbonated and refreshing, so it’s as easy to drink them as you would a Coke or other soda. And coffee is still the top banana when it comes to caffeinated beverages, but a Starbucks coffee tends to be more potent than a home brew.

Even though a single “mainstream” energy drink delivers a solid caffeine rush, most fall within levels that health professionals consider safe. However, kicked-up versions of the same brand can more than double the caffeine. And drinking more than one can of any energy drink can push caffeine into risky levels – especially when teens slurp them up like soda.

A “mainstream” energy drink contains 160 mg of caffeine per 16 ounces – according to the American Beverage Association (ABA, the industry’s lobbying group) – or half as much as a “coffee house” coffee (i.e., Starbucks) of the same size. But the ABA doesn’t mention that a regular coffee (the kind you’d drink at the office or brew at home) has about 100 mg of caffeine.

Energy Drinks Compared to Soft Drinks

I compared the ABA’s typical “mainstream energy drink” against other drinks and found:

1 Rockstar or other “mainstream” energy drink (160 mg/16 ounce)

= 5 (12-ounce) Cokes

= 3 (16-ounce) Cokes

= 3 (12-ounce) Mountain Dews

= 2 (8-ounce) Red Bulls

The more powerful version of Rockstar is even more caffeinated:

1 Rockstar 2X (12-ounce)

= half a (16-ounce) “mainstream” energy drink

= 6-pack of Pepsi (12-ounce cans)

So, you could drink 1 “mainstream” energy drink like Rockstar, or 3 Cokes. Or for more punch, you could drink one Rockstar 2X and get the same caffeine as a six-pack of Pepsi, but faster.

I’m not against energy drinks and slurp them myself from time to time. But it’s important for people to have a clear understanding of what they’re consuming, and comparisons like these help frame the whole story.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Taking Risks: Energy Drinks and Alcohol

January 3, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Got a thirst? Need a boost? Slurp down a can, or two – or more – of a refreshing, cold energy drink. Within minutes, moderate to high amounts of caffeine are churning through your brain and body. A moderate dose can be safe, even desirable. Too much caffeine, though, and you get the shakes, hands tremble, heartbeat races, and caffeine intoxication takes over. Like alcohol, the effects are intense, and they diminish over time.

This 16-ounce can of Xenergy contains 208 mg caffeine, considered very high; a same size Coke has 45 mg

Then there’s the problem of mixing caffeine with alcohol. Energy drinks and alcohol together are double-trouble. Caffeine does not reduce the effects of alcohol. You may feel more alert, but you’re just as impaired by the alcohol.

Studies have found that the combination of energy drinks and alcohol is more dangerous than drinking alcohol alone; caffeine’s stimulating buzz makes people less aware of being drunk. They perceive themselves as more in control than they really are; they’re likely to drink more alcohol, or feel confident about driving safely, for instance.

The effects go beyond mental perception; the physical risks are real, too. Caffeine is a stimulant. Alcohol is a depressant. Together they send mixed messages to the nervous system and the heart. The combination is especially risky for people with heart rhythm problems.

Teen deaths have been attributed to minor or undiagnosed cardiac problems and high caffeine, delivered in extreme doses by energy drinks. High levels of caffeine can boost heart rate and blood pressure in some people, causing palpitations. Some teens weren’t yet aware they had cardiac conditions, which under normal circumstances had never proved problematic.

Energy Drink Regulations Teeter on Teen Safety

Energy drinks make high caffeine consumption easy, especially in young people.

When energy drinks were linked to teenage deaths, the FDA became pressured to increase regulation and even ban energy drinks altogether. Some, including U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, say energy drinks use FDA loopholes to circumvent rules about caffeine content.

Motivated by the prospect of increased regulation, companies have slightly modified how they market energy drinks and soft drinks, especially to teens – a few have even altered their caffeine content and reclassified their products with the FDA as soft drinks, rather than dietary supplements. Chapter 5 outlines how energy drink and soft drink makers are choosing to list caffeine, including new marketing strategies by the ABA (American Beverage Association).

Conclusion

Energy drinks are as sweet, cold and bubbly as soda pop. They go down fast and easy. Some come in large containers, double or triple the size of a standard cup of coffee. Anyone could slurp up several cans in a day, especially thirsty athletes. But there’s a difference: energy drinks are often many times more caffeinated than sodas. Energy drinks can range from 50 to 500 mg of caffeine per container – while a 12-ounce can of Coke contains 34 mg of caffeine.

Energy shots aren’t bubbly. Most don’t even taste good. But since a 2-ounce shot amounts to just 1/4 cup, you can slam down 50 to 200 mg of caffeine in one or two quick gulps.

And this is where most criticism lies: With energy drinks and shots, it’s easy to quickly consume too much caffeine – especially unintentionally. Most people don’t realize that caffeine is biphasic: it’s safe in low to moderate doses, but can be risky in high doses. Soft drinks have a legal limit to the caffeine they may contain, and most are about as potent as brewed tea. Energy drinks and shots have no such limit. And just finding the amount of caffeine a product contains requires keen eyesight to read tiny print on labels, or in some cases, some online research.

Both soft drinks and energy drinks reflect flavors, packaging, and marketing designed to appeal to teenagers and children. But young people have brains and bodies that are still developing and don’t handle the drug’s effects in the same way as adults. From chocolates to coffee, and sodas to energy drinks, caffeine’s an everyday part of society. But no one wins when caffeine is taken in unsafe amounts. Chapter 11 dives deeper into the effects of caffeine in young people, as well as newborns and pregnant women.

In the next chapter: Store shelves buzz with new caffeinated products, from MIO to maple syrup, keeping everyone from Israeli pilots to average drivers alert.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Energy Drinks Change Marketing, Not Caffeine

January 5, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

Full Throttle has reached teens as a sponsor of the National Hot Rod Association

To recap: Energy drinks as Dietary Supplements must list caffeine as an ingredient, but not its amount, according to FDA rules. Soft drinks are not required to list caffeine at all, but the amount of caffeine cannot exceed 71 mg per 12 fluid ounces, or .02 percent.

Voluntary Caffeine Labels Deter Regulation

Caffeine amounts now appear on many soft drinks. It’s part of a voluntary, industry-wide action by the American Beverage Association. The ABA is a trade group whose members include Coke, Pepsi and manufacturers of non-alcoholic beverages, including energy drinks and tea.

By volunteering to list caffeine amounts, the beverage industry creates a win-win situation. With this information, people looking to limit caffeine consumption can choose their products, as can people seeking to increase their caffeine consumption. At the same time, beverage companies have successfully prevented mandatory government regulation.

So, the amount of caffeine in energy drinks remains unlimited, and existing regulations on cola drinks are also unchanged. The only difference is that North American consumers can now see in real numbers the amount of caffeine per serving. (The ABA move applies mainly to beverages in the U.S. and Canada, and not necessarily to other nations.) But the decision to list caffeine on a soft drink label remains entirely voluntary.

In 2o13, many energy drinks (including Full Throttle, made by Coca-Cola) switched their FDA category to food, instead of being a Dietary Supplement. As a food, these drinks now bear a Nutrition Label (not a Supplement label), which means they don’t have to list their caffeine amount.

But for some unexplained reason, these energy drinks aren’t affected by the soft drink rule, which limits caffeine to 71 mg per 12 ounces. Energy drinks with a Nutrition Facts label appear to be just as abundant in caffeine as they were when they were Dietary Supplements. And most are more caffeinated than soft drinks.

The ABA Says Caffeine Is Not a Drug. Really?

In a 2011 news release, the American Beverage Association (ABA) actually claimed “caffeine is not a drug.”

The ABA also says caffeine is a stimulant.

Energy Drinks Tweek Marketing Practices

In further response to Congressional pressure and to stave off mandatory regulations, the American Beverage Association adopted other voluntarily policies specifically for energy drinks. Labels, they advise their members, should list total caffeine content, and a warning that energy drinks are not recommended for children, pregnant or nursing women and people sensitive to caffeine.

The ABA guidelines recommend:

“Labels and marketing of energy drinks should not promote the mixing with alcohol or make any claims that consumption of alcohol together with energy drinks counteracts the effects of alcohol. Energy drinks are functional beverages, which differ from sports drinks and therefore should not be marketed as sport drinks. Energy drinks should not be sold nor marketed in schools (K-12), or to children.”

A good way to see if an energy drink is marketing itself to teens, sports fans, or other groups is to visit the brand’s website. That way you can decide for yourself who the brand is targeting and whether the pitch is appropriate.

Read the Report: Congress Looks into Energy Drinks

In April 2013, three members of Congress tried to make sense of the current FDA rules on caffeinated products. To address growing concerns over energy drinks and their the marketing to children, Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Senators Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) launched an investigation into the practices of fourteen commonly sold energy drink brands. You can get this report as a PDF at this link:

Report: What’s All the Buzz About?

A Survey of Popular Energy Drinks Finds Inconsistent Labeling, Questionable Ingredients and Targeted Marketing to Adolescents
By the staffs of Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Future Regulations for Energy Drinks

January 5, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

What if “energy drinks” were renamed “caffeinated beverages”?

Imagine this: You’re pushing your cart down the energy drink aisle, shopping for a can of Full Throttle Energy Drink. You almost walk right by it, before you realize, it’s there – but the label is completely different. In fact, all the energy drinks look different. They’re now called “caffeinated beverages” and you can’t find the word “energy” on any of them. Plus, they’ve got all sorts of new warnings on them:

Not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine and sportspersons. Do not drink more than two cans per day. May not contain more than 320 mg of caffeine per liter.

You’re not dreaming. You’re also not in the U.S., or the western world. You’re in India.

International Warnings on Energy Drinks

In June 2012, India’s national health agency cracked down on “energy drinks.” Once the changes go through, energy drinks will be renamed “caffeinated beverages.” After deliberating for two years, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) took a stand on highly caffeinated drinks, stripping them of the “energy” tag, and adding safety warnings similar to ones on tobacco products. The products will also be banned from making any nutritional claims.

Energy drinks are causing a global regulatory stir. A handful of countries ban energy drinks, but most countries (including the U.S.) are still figuring out what to do. Policies are being reviewed and rewritten. The most common solution puts an upper limit on caffeine and adds warning labels to the can. In Australia, for instance, energy drinks must not contain more than 320mg/L of caffeine. Labels must disclose the amount of caffeine contained, with a statement that the product is not suitable for children, pregnant or lactating women.

The European Union stipulates that products containing more than 150 mg/liter of caffeine bear a warning of “high caffeine content” followed by the amount of caffeine contained.

France once banned Red Bull, but not because of caffeine. The safety of taurine, an added ingredient, was once considered questionable, but health-risks were never definitively proven. So today, Red Bull is sold in France and throughout the European Union.

Conclusion

What’s driving extreme caffeine consumption?

Marketing and new products. “Virgin” segments of consumers – ones that aren’t yet caffeine consumers – are prime targets. Additionally, FDA rules permit both extreme caffeine products and marketing to all age groups.

We tend to think that more is better, but that’s not the case with biphasic drugs. Caffeine is a biphasic drug; it has different effects at low doses than high ones, and adverse effects occur generally at higher doses. Most experts agree that caffeine is safe in moderate consumption for most people. Dietary supplement rules allow energy drinks, shots, and other extreme caffeinated products to push caffeine levels higher.

Caffeine is safe in low doses, but high doses are risky

Here’s the problem: People can’t tell how much caffeine they’re consuming if the label doesn’t list the amount. High doses of caffeine can be risky, even for healthy individuals. Kids are especially vulnerable, including teens with heart conditions. Today’s products make caffeine fashionable to young users; and the suggestion of danger makes extreme caffeine deliciously wicked to some kids.

Caffeine overdose happens. It’s not always lethal, but it has become more frequent since extreme caffeine products arrived. Emergency rooms treat young people with reactions triggered by caffeine or large amounts of alcohol and caffeine. The untamed market for energy drinks continues to grow, especially among young, new customers – but some countries are pushing back with consumer labeling and other restrictions.

In the U.S., the FDA prefers voluntary industry restraint over federally mandated laws. Especially when a substance like caffeine is widespread and also found naturally in coffee, tea, chocolate, and guarana.

But consumer complaints and lawsuits regarding energy drink safety are mounting rapidly. At the same time, the American Beverage Association is a powerful lobbying group, whose members make everything from soft drinks, to tea, to energy drinks. Ultimately, the FDA may have a long push-pull battle with the ABA over marketing tactics and labeling, rather than restricting the amount of caffeine in products themselves.

Chapters 10 and 11 explore what doctors say about caffeine in young people, children, and adults.

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents