Daniel Piotrowski
December 05, 2012
news.com.au
A LEADING medical body is calling for a crackdown on highly caffeinated energy drinks as a family-sized 1.2 litre V drink lands on our supermarket shelves.
The V drink is promoted as a “share bottle” for people to take to parties. But health experts are anxious the beverages will be picked up at the supermarket and guzzled by children, as emergency room reports of adolescents suffering from health issues from caffeine rise.
“I don’t know why the heck Food Standards Australia are letting these products go onto the market that are complicating the healthcare of Australians and New Zealanders,” said Dr Steve Hambleton, the president of peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association. “I’m just amazed and appalled by the amount of caffeine that is legal to be sold.”
“You [can] pick it up at the supermarket, probably the service station and the corner store, and it’s next to the cornflakes in the supermarket aisle,†he said, adding it could easily be picked up by children.
The supersized energy drink contains 372 mg of caffeine, and while that is just four strong cups of coffee, leading dietician Rosemary Stanton said it’s a worrying level of consumption for kids.
“The main problem with these drinks is that they appeal to kids,†Dr Stanton said. “We don’t let [kids] have three to four cups of coffee. Drinking that much would be too much.â€
Excessive caffeine consumption can cause symptoms from anxiety and irritability to rapid heart rate, palpitations, and in excessive cases, caffeine toxicity. Researchers at the University of Sydney found in February this year that reports of caffeine toxicity from energy drink consumption were particularly increasing in adolescents.
A warning on the label of the V drink warns that people should only drink a maximum of 500mLs a day, and that it should not consumed by children.
The giant drink comes as the Federal Government turns a keen eye to an energy drink controversy in the US, where the Food and Drug Administration is investigating reports of five deaths and one non-fatal heart attack linked to energy drinks.
AMA president Steve Hambleton said the amount of caffeine allowed in energy drinks (320mg/L) should be restricted to the level allowed for soft drinks (130mg/L). “We can’t see a single reason why the energy drink market should not be curtailed,†he said.
But if there’s a crack down on the beverages the government should have to crack down on tea and coffee, said the head of the Australian Beverages Council Geoff Parker.
“If the AMA is looking to cap caffeine to be equivalent to a soft drink than they probably need to look at coffee and at tea as they’re all sources of caffeine as well,” he said.
Mr Parker said the energy drink market in Australia is one of the most heavily regulated in the world.
“We think there is more than adequate regulation in Australia,” he said.
“The current caffeine content is capped to around about the equivalent of a standard cup of coffee. And our labelling restrictions are the toughest of anywhere in the world.”
A Health Department spokesperson said the government was expecting to be presented options for potential changes to caffeine policy early next year.
The parent company of V energy drinks, Frucor Beverages Australia, did not respond to calls.
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