Did energy drinks kill Mick Clarke? Grieving mum calls for ban

SEPTEMBER 04, 2014
News.com.au
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How safe are energy drinks for teens?
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AT 35 years old, Mick Clarke seemed like he had his whole life ahead of him.
Even though he kept unusual hours thanks to his job, the Perth-based truck driver lived an active life, running most days and consuming a reasonable diet.
But there was one major shortcoming in Mick’s seemingly healthy lifestyle — he was drinking about four energy drinks a day. And when he died suddenly on January 30 this year, that was found to be the cause.
The coroner said it was caffeine toxicity that claimed his life.
“He used to buy a four-pack (of energy drink), so I’d say he was drinking at least four a day, but he was also coming home and drinking coffee as well,” Mick’s mother, Shani Clarke, told the ABC.
“It was only a couple of weeks prior … he was out the front cleaning his truck out, and he had all these cans of Mother that he went to throw in the bin and I said to him then, ‘I hope you’re not drinking all of them in one go because they can kill you’.”
Can of Mother energy drink, to be drunk by participants before taking part in a heart rate test at a doctor’s surgery in Syd…
Mick didn’t realise energy drinks could be dangerous — most people don’t — but his death, and a campaign led by his mother to raise awareness about caffeine toxicity caused by energy drinks, is turning heads.
Shani Clarke has started a petition to ban the sale of energy drinks to people under 18, and her Facebook group Caffeine Toxicity Death Awareness is already changing lives.
Shocked by what happened to Mick, followers on the Facebook group have pledged to kick their energy drink-guzzling habits and shared their own horror stories.
But experts aren’t so shocked.
Professor Chris Semsarias has campaigned for the regulation of energy drinks for years, and has compared the public health issue to that of smoking 30 years ago.
“It took a while before we worked out all the adverse medical effects, but the potential magnitude of this problem is not dissimilar and should be acted on,” he told news.com.au.
“I think a lot of people don’t understand that energy drinks can potentially be fatal, and you can’t blame them, they’re treated like a soft drink.”
There are regulations on energy drinks, and companies that sell them will argue the regulations here are the toughest in the world.
The Australian Beverage Council’s CEO Geoff Parker said that while Mick’s death was “clearly a tragic case”, the drinks market was already regulated enough.
In addition to abiding by strict food laws, Mr Parker said the industry adhered to guidelines that energy drinks wouldn’t be made available in schools, wouldn’t be marketed or advertised to children, and bear labels that do not promote mixing energy drinks with any other beverages.
“Australia’s strict regulations, in addition to a cap on the caffeine content, equivalent to an instant cup of coffee for a 250mL can (80mg), make our energy drink regulations the toughest in the world,” Mr Parker said.
“We certainly do not encourage over-consumption of energy drinks, which is why all drinks are clearly labelled with total caffeine amounts and maximum usage recommendations,” he said. “Energy drinks are completely safe to consume in moderation.”
Professor Naren Gunja, a clinical toxicologist at NSW Poinsons Centre said it wasn’t fair to compare coffee with energy drinks.
“Coffee’s got caffeine in it but it’s a hot drink and you can’t drink a lot of it. It’s very difficult to drink lots of it in a small amount of time but you can’t drink energy drinks like water or any other soft drink,” he said.
“When you drink large volumes it leads to caffeine toxicity. You get poisoned.”
In a research paper published in 2012, Dr Gunja’s extensive study identified symptoms like heart attacks, seizures, and cardiac arrhythmia resulting from the intake of energy drinks.
Dizziness, pins and needles, vomiting, palpitations and shaking were also common reactions.
“In low doses you get agitation but in high doses, I’ve seen patients who’ve had heart attacks, seizures, and we know there are patients around the world who have died from caffeine overdose,” he said.
“It’s poisoning. People are being poisoned and they might not even realise it.”
As well as restricting the sales and availability of energy drinks, the toxicology expert has called for ‘poison’ labels to be fixed to energy drinks.
In her change.org petition, Shani Clarke says that she wants to campaign for harsher laws to be implemented by the Federal Government’s health department “so my beautiful son Mick didn’t die in vain”.
His story has already prompted others to kick their habits and share their experiences.
“It was a Friday night, left Adelaide wanting to get home to Canberra by morning. At about 2am, I got a can of “V” at Hay. What took place scared me!” fellow truck driver John Dowdy-Pitt shared on the Facebook group.
“Within 20 Min of drinking it, the chest pain started, heart rate was amazingly fast. I had pain & numbness in my left arm, hand & couldn’t concentrate at all. I pushed through it because by that point I was well out of phone range & away from towns. I don’t remember much of the drive, but I will never forget the experience.”
Dr Chris Semsaris says John’s story isn’t uncommon, and it’s not just people who drink litres of the stuff a day we need to worry about.
“You don’t have to have four a day for the last three months of your life to have toxicity,” he said.
“There are cases where a person has had one energy drink where a person has had a problem, and there are a series of sudden cases in America that are currently being investigated.
“The effects can be fatal. We shouldn’t need to scare people into looking after their health.”