Sydney Ridenhour Source 5

Continuing my research in the marketing of energy drinks.

Energy Drinks: Exploring Concerns about Marketing to Youth: Hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, July 31, 2013. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 31 July 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

The book talks about how companies market energy drinks to children, but companies say they don't. It also explains how they market to children. They market it by selling them at schools,  sporting events, concerts, etc. They also use tools such as "video games on their websites, social media, flashy ads, and claims to increase attention, stamina, and help with hydration and building muscle." They also use children, from the ages of 7 and up, in their videos on their website, which attracts the attention from other kids of similar age. It also talks about how energy drinks put a lot of caffeine and other additives in their drinks and they compare it to coffee and soda. Soda has a limit of 71 milligrams in one 12 ounce can, this limit was set by the FDA. But a 16 ounce cup of coffee from a coffeehouse can have 330 milligrams of caffeine. Where as, a 24 ounce can of an energy drink can have 240 milligrams of caffeine. And now energy drink companies sell these products in 16, 24, or 32 ounce cans and can be sold in packages that contain multiple cans. They did a study and found that 1 out of 3 eighth graders consumed energy drinks and out of that 18% drank more than one a day. In this book, they also pointed out that, "According to the FDA, most healthy adults can safely consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day, but children can safely only consume between 45 and 85 milligrams of caffeine per day, de- pending on their weight." A solution to the problem they had was to ban marketing to children, especially between the ages of 12 and 18 because that is who they are mainly targeting. 

After reading this, I have noticed that a lot of my research that have seen, a solution that has come up a lot is banning marketing from children to adolescents. Why can't they ban the sells to minors? Like set a legal age limit of being 18 years or older to purchase and drink an energy drink. Also, I have a question about the parents. Shouldn't they be watching what their kids are consuming? I don't think it is entirely a company's fault. Parents of younger children should be a little responsible too. I think their should be something like an educational system in place like they do for drugs and alcohol. This has also opened my eyes to all the things that has caffeine in it. They pointed out that certain foods have caffeine it. I also think it is very bizarre that energy drink companies deny that they advertise to children and adolescents even though it is blatantly obvious they do. 

This book has kind of told me what the articles have said, but with a little more detail. I think this is going to be the hardest part of my paper because it is going to be hard to find things that disagree with one another.

I don't think I have found my answer yet. I think I will further my research into why other countries have banned energy drinks and why we have not. I also want to see if there are any positive benefits. I know I found a few in another article, but I still feel like I haven't found anything about that. There has to be of some benefit to these products or else people wouldn't buy them so much, and it wouldn't be such a growing market. I am also having a hard time finding articles that disagree with one another. They all say the same thing pretty much. I have found a lot of answers to why we should ban energy drinks, but nothing that says we shouldn't.