Red Bull. A drug delivery device?
Are stimulant drinks just a vehicle for drug injection?
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are raising the issue, and recommending that caffeine be subject to the very same regulations as other drugs. Stimulant drink manufacturers have skirted US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation by selling their products, which contain from 50 mg to up to 505 mg caffeine per bottle, as nutritional supplements.
And even though sodas have a caffeine maximum set at 71 mg per 12 ounces or less, and requires that over-the-counter stimulant medications containing caffeine list their content and include warnings on risks, these caffeine bolus drinks do not.
The doctors simply want labeling. Just spell out how much caffeine there is in the little plastic bottle. The American Beverage Association (ABA), predictably, is against this. And why in the world would they be?
According to the ABA, “mainstream responsible players” who make energy drinks containing more moderate amounts of caffeine should not be lumped together with “novelty companies seeking attention and increased sales based solely on extreme names and caffeine content.”
It seems that the very best way to do this is to label the concentration of caffeine in the drink. They should WANT this. Moreover, the only reason to fear labeling is if you are worried that people will realize that you are “a novelty company … incresing sales based solely on … caffeine content.”
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