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High Energy Drinks
Do Kids Really Need Caffeine?
By Melissa Granberry
As adults, we are consumed with coffee and caffeine. Just look on every corner, shopping center and in your local grocery store, and there is probably a grande, non-fat latte waiting for you. While we are grabbing our much-needed "cup of Joe," what are our kids reaching for?
Walk in to the refrigerated section of any convenience store and you will see your child's beverage options. Yes, the milk and bottled water are there, but keep walking and you will pass the standard sodas to find some new choices, such as Red Bull, Amp (Pepsi), 180 (Anheuser Busch) and KMX (Coca Cola). You may even come across more assertive names, such as Monster Energy, Adrenaline Rush (Pepsi) and Whoopass. Why are these thin, wide-mouth cans so tempting to kids? Because they are filled with the forbidden ingredients: sugar and caffeine.
Though caffeine is no stranger to supermarket shelves, it is appearing in unprecedented amounts in some of the beverage options. Mountain Dew first raised the bar on caffeine content by adding 10 to 15 milligrams, compared to other sodas. In the late 1990s, Red Bull was distributed in the United States, and Americans were introduced to "high energy drinks."
Patrice Radden, from the Red Bull Communications Center, says that its blend of key ingredients has set the product apart from other drinks on the market and has created a totally new market segment.
Other distributors did not waste any time joining in on this new craze, and for $2 a can, it's easy to see how our kids spend their allowance so quickly. What makes these drinks different from "doing the Dew"? Ingredients such as taurine and guarana – and loads of caffeine.