MIDDLETOWN — Public schools are prohibited from selling them and the NCAA bans their use, but energy drinks are quickly becoming the beverage of choice for middle, high school, and even elementary school students.
Now, Rep. Bruce Long (R-Middletown, Jamestown) is moving to ban the popular drinks from school grounds, saying their use constitutes "substance abuse" and should be treated in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco.
House Bill-7649, introduced Feb. 26, would prohibit the sale, consumption or possession of energy drinks on school campuses in Rhode Island.
Under the Rhode Island Healthier Food and Beverage Law passed in 2007, energy drinks such as Red Bull, Amp and Monster are barred from being sold in school vending machines and cafeterias due to their high levels of sugar and artificial sweeteners.
Rep. Long's legislation would take the law one step further and ban the drinks entirely from school grounds. "What my legislation does," he said, "is prohibit these energy drinks from school property."
The law would apply all beverages with a caffeine content of at least 71 milligrams per 12-ounce serving. Typically, soft drinks contain anywhere from 25 to 35 milligrams of caffeine. A 12-ounce can of A&W Cream Soda contains 29 milligrams, while a 12-ounce can of Coca Cola contains 34.5 milligrams. So-called energy drinks can contain up to 350 milligrams per container. A 12-ounce coffee from Starbucks contains 260 milligrams of caffeine, but the legislation would not apply to either coffee or tea.
For Rep. Long, the issue goes beyond pure substance. "It's how the drink is used and for what purpose," he said. "These drinks are chugged down. I've tried it. They're not drinking them for taste."
Substance abuse?
Energy drinks are classified by the FDA as "functional beverages" which are part of the bigger — and rapidly growing — nutraceutical food industry.
According to Rep. Long, the function of energy drinks is providing a legal high for students. "Caffeine is a substance. And when people take a substance for effect, for mood change, for altering the mind, that's substance abuse."
Lori Verderosa, the Substance Abuse Task Force coordinator for Middletown and a licensed chemical dependency clinician, agrees.
"Teenagers that I talk to tell me that it's a legal buzz during the school day," she said. "Part of the problem right now is that it's so far under the radar screen is that most parents are unaware."
Consumers, however, are aware.
According to a report released in December 2007 by the Packaged Facts market research group, the energy drink industry today is worth over $5.4 billion and industry projections estimate that it will increase to more than $10 billion in the coming years.
Driving the market are corporations such as Coors Brewing Co., Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola, which have all launched or purchased energy drink production recent years. That has given pause to energy drink opponents.
"In my mind it's clearly a gateway drug," Rep. Long said. "The companies that make this — Coors, Anheuser-Busch — are also making alcoholic energy drinks."
Laura Hosley, Substance Abuse Task Force coordinator for Jamestown, said the similarities between non-alcoholic energy drinks marketed to kids and beverages that are sold in liquor stores are glaring.
At first, Ms. Hosley believed that companies were marketing the drinks as primers for alcoholic energy drinks. Upon further reflection, however, she became convinced that kids were drinking them for the caffeine buzz.
"This is substance abuse on its own," she said. "You really would never allow kids to take caffeine pills, but you allow them to take it in liquid form?"
"I've had kids who have had serious health problems from drinking two or three Red Bulls in the morning before school," said Melissa Minto, coordinator of the Jamestown Teen Center.
While Ms. Minto has not explicitly banned energy drinks from the teen center, she does discourage its use and hopes that Rep. Long's legislation will pass. "Once the schools ban them, it will give me more leeway to do so as well," she said.
Not sports drinks
Energy drink brands such as Red Bull have engrained themselves into the pop cultural colloquy; icons such as Playboy are also introducing energy drinks to help expand and reinforce their own brand appeal.
A visit to Red Bull's website reveals that the energy drink is not just selling a quick pick-me-up, but a lifestyle as well. Features such as a multimedia center with photos, videos and audio galleries, profiles of award-winning athletes and Abercrombie-like visages proliferate the site. Red Bull's ingredient list could almost be seen as an afterthought.
While their high-octane marketing campaigns featuring extreme sports athletes may suggest that energy drinks are ideal for increased physical activity, the drinks should not be confused for sports drinks.
In fact, while sports drinks are formulated to help provide energy to fatigued muscles and to help the body absorb water and glucose, energy drinks dehydrate the body. Nevertheless, drinks such as Red Bull continue to consume market share once occupied by sports drinks such as Gatorade.
Buried amid the multitude of mixed media content on the Red Bull website reads the following warning: "Since Red Bull Energy Drink has not been formulated to deliver re-hydration, we encourage people who engage in sports to also drink lots of water during intense exercise."
The drinks' high caffeine levels were enough for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to take notice. In 2006, the NCAA banned energy drinks from use in college sports programs, citing the adverse health effects consistent with other stimulants such as ecstasy, amphetamine, ephedrine and cocaine.
So far, reaction to the plan has been mixed. The bill, which was referred to the House committee on Health, Education, and Welfare, has been recommended to be held for further study — a designation that usually spells an end to legislation. Meanwhile, the Jamestown School Committee recently opted not to adopt a ban on the possession of energy drinks despite a presentation by Rep. Long and Ms. Hosley.
Cathy Kaiser, chairperson of the Jamestown School Committee, described the presence of energy drinks in school as a "very disturbing development," but said the matter can best be addressed through education and notification.
Rather than adopting a policy that would ban energy drinks on school property, Ms. Kaiser said that the committee felt dealing with the issue on "the ground level" through education would be a more effective strategy for the island's K-8 school system.
"I would support the idea of a state law," she said. "If we find our approach to be ineffective, we can always reevaluate it."
Still, Rep. Long is not backing off his efforts. Later this month, he plans on addressing the Middletown School Committee in the hopes of affecting change on the local level.
"You can't ban everything," Rep. Long said. "You can't pass a law every time you think something is wrong. I'm just trying to help and trying to educate."
By Tom Shevlin
news@newportthisweek.net