For day three of 7 Days, 7 Bills, I want to highlight a bill I advocated passionately for this session: HB 5261: An Act Concerning the Consumption of Energy Drinks by Children.
Energy drinks are all the rage. From typical soft drink producers to YouTube Influencers, the manufacturing and sales of energy drinks have become big business… but they can also be quite dangerous!
As Co-Chair of the Committee on Children, I’m proud to have written this bill, which creates a working group consisting of pediatricians, coaches and more to create signage alerting consumers to the dangers of over-consumption of energy drinks. Those risks include heart arrhythmia, tachycardia or rapid heartbeat, panic attacks, anxiety, and more.
Studies have shown tens of thousands of emergency room visits directly linked to the consumption of energy drinks, and there have been even been fatal cardiac arrythmias associated with energy drink consumption.
It’s not just about the caffeine – many drinks have what they call an “herbal blend” which could contain guarana or other stimulants on top of the caffeine, making the side effects even more dangerous for some. Since these drinks are labeled “supplements”, they are not FDA regulated, and federal law does not require strict labeling of the ingredients.
This signage will help consumers know the risks before they purchase these drinks.
The bill will now go to the Senate for consideration. This year’s session ends on May 8.
