Truth about the energy drink craze that's putting young lives in danger

Teenager Joshua Merrick had his whole life ahead of him. The 19-year-old had just finished college and was set to join the Royal Navy. A talented rugby player, he was hugely popular, with one friend describing him as 'the most loyal person I knew'.

But in January last year, Joshua was found by his father, having died quite suddenly in his sleep. An inquest this week heard the teenager had been drinking a high-caffeine energy drink called Animal Rage to boost his work-outs. 

While the verdict was that Joshua died of natural causes, the doctor who conducted toxicology tests on his body said she could not rule out the possibility the drinks contributed to his death.

Gina Weaver, 15, with her mother Jenni, 40, became ill after drinking too much Monster

Josh's death is the latest in a number of incidents that have been linked to energy drinks, fuelling concerns over these largely unregulated products. Particularly worrying is their popularity among children and teenagers.

With some cans containing 13 teaspoons of sugar and the equivalent in caffeine of two cups of coffee, there is growing alarm over what these drinks are doing to the young body and brain.

Campaigners say legislation is urgently needed to put age limits on the drinks.

This week Josh's father, Andrew, told how he had been concerned about his son's love of energy drinks.

'These products arrive on the market and are available to everyone without any checks being done.'

Often parents have no idea that their children are drinking energy drinks, nor how much caffeine is in them.

Mother of four Jenni Weaver was baffled by her 15-year-old daughter Gina's mysterious symptoms last year.

Contributory factor? Energy drinks were linked to the death of Joshua Merrick

She started having really bad stomach cramps,' says Jenni, 40, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire. 

'She'd have a spate of them for about three or four days and then they would die down. She was suffering headaches, too. I was so worried, but I couldn't work it out and neither could our family doctor.'

In March, the pain got so bad that Gina, 15, had to be hospitalised and given morphine.  

'The doctor couldn't establish what was causing it, so he asked Gina about her diet,' says Jenni.
'She had a normal diet, but then she mentioned that she drank the energy drink Monster. She admitted she drank about three or four cans a day, which she was buying on her way to school. I had no idea - I'd thought there was an age-limit on them.

'Some secondary school children come in having not had breakfast and started the day with one of these energy drinks'

'The doctor told her that she had to stop there and then because the sugar, caffeine and acid in these drinks was what was causing her pain.'

Gina was consuming up to two litres of Monster a day, which is around 640mg of caffeine - the recommended daily limit for adults is 400mg.

'I don't think she had any sense of what was in these things,' says Jenni. 'She just liked the taste and said all her friends were drinking them, too'

Gina followed the doctor's advice and the stomach pains and headaches have ceased. She believes energy drinks should carry an age limit and a proper health warning.

SOURCE-DAILYM