We all remember Surge right? That drink put out by Coca Cola to compete with Pepsi's Mountain Dew. Whatever happened to that? The main reason I've heard that it failed is that it had too much caffeine, but in all actuality, it was probably one of the safer drinks.
First off, according to Save Surge, Surge has only 4.25 mg of caffeine for every oz of drink. Mountain Dew on the other hand, has 4.58 mg/oz. Now, this may seem like a lot, but let me put these numbers into context. At the Caffeine Database we can see that Monsters have 8.75 mg/oz, Rockstars have 10.00 mg/oz, a Starbucks tall coffee has 23.25 mg/oz, and an espresso has 51.33 mg/oz. Now, these are only the ones sold into the US. Lets travel north to Canada, where a Powershot has 100.0 mg/oz or to the online market where a Sky Rocket Caffeinated Syrup has the same amount. Both of these are only served in 1 oz shots, lest people have a heart attack. Obviously, the American public was not worried about their energy intake.
Nor are they today, as is seen by the gross increase of Starbucks around the globe and the amount of Red Bulls the average young adult downs a day (which only has 9.64 mg/oz).
The BBC published a short list of reccommendations after an Irish student died after drinking 3 Red Bulls following some "strenuous exercise:"
"a) stimulant drinks should be labelled with an indication that theyare unsuitable for children (under 16 years of age), pregnant women
and individuals sensitive to caffeine
b) they should be classified with other beverages of high caffeine
content
c) the consumption of stimulant drinks by children under 16 years
should be discouraged
d) caution should be exercised in the consumption of stimulant drinks
with alcohol
e) they should not be consumed in association with sport and exercise
as a thirst quencher
f) they are unsuitable rehydration agents for use in sport and during
exercise."
Surge is the victim of a caffeine scare that no longer exists. In fact, Surge is healthy compared to most energy drinks released today. If anyone is to be banned, it should be the Monster that has gone too far.
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Wow, its totally scary how much caffeine teenagers take in. Apparently its a lot easier to die from than we all think. I've known people to drink like, 5 Monsters in a row.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
Remember Jolt cola? I think I've had Jolt and it tastes like Pepsi, nowhere near todays drinks.
Oooo, Is that why I like Rockstars so much? Well at least that 12 Step program I'm on is helping me kick the Caffeine addiction.
Wait a few years and there will be an epidemic of people going into Caffeine Anonymous meetings. Just you wait...
"My name is John, and I'm a caffeine addict."
haha. I will totally be part of that. Of course, I haven't admitted I have a problem yet. It's everyone else who tells me that. The people at work seem to think that 12 cans of Coke a week is a bit excessive. What would they say if they learned that they only see those 12?
There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun.
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy and God I know I'm one. ~The Animals
What ever happened to Kick? It was the only way I made it through algebra in the 8th grade... and I haven't seen it since.
"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." -Huxley
"It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err." -Gandhi
There was a drink called "Cocaine" with something like 200mg of caffeine. Don't know if that is still around.
I think it is all too much. I'm definately not the healthiest eater ever, but I think I do pretty good at keeping my soda count down. I stick to water pretty much.
I notice a lot of those energy drinks things too be like a size and a half bigger than regular drinks. Maybe the drink producers could just chill out with the big cans and settle with average. People probably wouldn't drink any more. I don't think anyone would say, "ok, i used to drink 2 monsters a day, but now they've made them smaller, so I need to drink four!" People would probably be like, "eh, I'll settle with having this one smaller one."