SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Monster Beverage targets children and adolescents for its dangerous "energy drinks," which have been "implicated" in five deaths, the San Francisco city attorney claims in court. Monster sued back, telling the city to butt out.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued Monster Beverage Corporation in Federal Court, on behalf of the people of California.
Monster countersued Herrera in Los Angeles Federal Court. It claims that Herrera is grandstanding: that young people can order drinks with more caffeine in them at any Starbucks, but Herrera hasn't sued Starbucks.
Monster presents the contention as a quibble over marketing and speech rights, Herrera as a matter of public safety. This article will report on Herrera's lawsuit first.
His complaint states: "This case challenges the unfair, deceptive, and unlawful business practices of defendant Monster Beverage Corporation ('Monster'), the largest manufacturer of energy drinks in the United States. Energy drinks are flavored beverages that contain large amounts of added caffeine and typically large amounts of sugar, as well as other additives such as taurine, guarana, and ginseng. Although energy drinks are a relative newcomer to the U.S. marketplace, they have surged in popularity in recent years, particularly among youth to whom they are aggressively marketed. Monster sells a variety of flavored energy drinks under the 'Monster Energy' brand. Monster Energy Drinks contain much higher levels of caffeine than found in traditional sodas and colas commonly consumed by teenagers. "A 16-ounce can of Monster Energy contains 160 milligrams of caffeine (the equivalent of more than four cans of Coke), and, aZ4-ounce can contains 240 milligrams of caffeine (the equivalent of nearly seven cans of Coke).
"Recent reports of health complications, emergency department visits, injuries, and even deaths related to energy drink consumption have spawned widespread concern among scientists and physicians regarding the safety of the high caffeine levels in Monster Energy Drinks. Monster Energy Drinks have been implicated in the deaths of five individuals, as well as numerous reported illnesses, hospitalizations and injuries. Indeed, a recent lawsuit alleges that a 14-year-old girl died of cardiac arrhythmia induced by caffeine after consuming two 24-ounce Monster energy drinks within a 24-hour period.
"Based on a review of the current scientific literature, eighteen scientific experts recently concluded that the large amount of added caffeine in energy drinks is not safe as required by law. Rather, there is a strong correlation between consumption of caffeine at levels found in Monster's products and adverse health and safety consequences. The health risks associated with consumption of energy drinks are serious. Specifically, the scientists found that 'consumption of highly caffeinated energy drinks has been associated with elevated blood pressure, altered heart rates, and severe cardiac events in children and young adults,' a number of cases have been reported 'of new-onset seizures attributed to energy drink consumption among adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 28,' and '[y]outh with higher caffeine intake commonly report troubling neurological symptoms, including nervousness and anxiety, jitteriness, dizziness, headache, muscle twitching, and tremors.'