Cigarettes in Ontario are banned from all public places and even some private places. Cigarettes are sold but hidden behind metal curtains or doors so the public can not be seduced into buying them by visual exposure. Children under 19 years of age are not permitted by law to buy or smoke them.

Yet… children can freely walk into any corner store and buy an overdose of Caffeine “Energy Drinks” with ease. If a child smokes a cigarette, or even a pack of cigarettes it won’t kill him, but a six pack of Energy Drinks just might. How, why do we allow such a thing?

Taking too high a dose can lead to anxiety, headaches, sleeplessness and the jitters. And stopping once you’ve gotten used to it can actually cause withdrawal symptoms that can lead to those same headaches, muscle pain, irritability and even temporary depression. As if adolescence weren’t hard enough.

But the real danger comes when the drinks are mixed with alcohol at parties.

The combination of a stimulant (caffeine) with a depressant (alcohol) can be a recipe for trouble. Despite their liquid form, the energy drinks can actually lead to dehydration, a danger in places that may already be hot and enclosed.

Health Canada actually has four reported cases of teens either mixing the substances with booze or simply taking too many of them in a row. Among the consequences:

• Electrolyte disturbances
• Nausea and vomiting
• Heart irregularities.

Red Bull remains the only so-called energy drink labeled as a health product in Canada. But there are others on the market and they all have similar effects.

Source City TV

See the report from Health Canada

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Traditional sports drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade include water, salt, and sugars in proportions that help the body absorb fluids and salts lost in sweat and in the breath while exercising. The sugars not only help the body take in the water, but also provide fuel for muscles that need sugars to keep performing well during long walks, runs, or bikes. A small amount of salt helps protect the body from hyponatremia, (also known as water intoxication), which can happen if you drink a large amount of water without any salt.

Energy drinks are formulated to deliver caffeine and other stimulants, such as guarana or ginseng, to give the drinker a rush of energy. They are not designed to replace lost fluids during exercise. Some come in small cans that deliver a large amount of caffeine in a small amount of fluid. Many are carbonated, which can lead exercisers to experience burping, nausea and a bloated feeling.

Rollins notes that if you have already had a cup or two of coffee in the morning, adding a can of energy drink can put you over the amount of caffeine most dieticians think is a reasonable limit for the day. “You are losing body fluids through perspiration when walking. Caffeine compounds dehydration further,” said Rollins.

Source About.com

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Super-caffeinated energy drinks, with names like Red Bull, Monster,
Full Throttle and Amp, have surged in popularity in the past decade.
About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds say they regularly down energy
drinks, which account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the
United States.

The trend has been the source of growing concern among health
researchers and school officials. Around the country, the drinks have
been linked with reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and
emergency room visits.

In Colorado Springs, several high school students last year became ill
after drinking Spike Shooter, a high caffeine drink, prompting the
principal to ban the beverages. In March, four middle school students
in Broward County, Fla., went to the emergency room with heart
palpitations and sweating after drinking the energy beverage Redline.
In Tigard, Ore., teachers this month sent parents e-mail alerting them
that students who brought energy drinks to school were “literally
drunk on a caffeine buzz or falling off a caffeine crash.”

New research suggests the drinks are associated with a health issue
far more worrisome than the jittery effects of caffeine — risk
taking.

Source derkeiler.com

Shall I continue, or do you parents get the picture? Urge your corner store “not to carry” these products or at very least not to sell them to your children. They are harmful no matter what age you are. Certainly in the case of children and teens, they may be lethal. Who’s responsible for your children? You or the clerk at the corner store? Talk to your kids and let them know that these drinks can hurt them, more than cigarettes.

Here is one more that will push you over the edge… The American Journal of Medicine

Energy drink consumption has been anecdotally linked with sudden cardiac death and, more recently, myocardial infarction. As myocardial infarction is strongly associated with both platelet and endothelial dysfunction, we tested the hypothesis that energy drink consumption alters platelet and endothelial function.

Dr Whiting on The Dangers of Energy Drinks