Energy Drinks: History and Risks Essay

Energy drinks target many teens and adults and are found to be dangerous by the FDA with ingredients that damage the body and cause harmful side effects. Energy drinks are bad for your body, and the faux energy they provide is extremely harmful. "Energy drinks are canned or bottled beverages sold in convenience stores, grocery stores, and bars and night clubs in mixed drinks" (Wong 1). They have the potential to threaten your life.The first energy drink was created in 1987 in Japan by a Japanese man named Dietrich Mateschitz. Mateschitz was the man who created the infamous energy drink, Red Bull. He got the concept of an energy drink from Taisho Pharmaceuticals in Japan, when they released a drink called Lipovatin-D that contained many ingredients that you see today in energy drinks. Red Bull quickly became popular in Europe and then spread around the world.The many ingredients in energy drinks are extremely dangerous. Caffeine, sugar, ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba, tauting, inostol, carnitine, B vitamins, L-Carnitine, and antioxidants are just some of the ingredients in most energy drinks that, in large quantities, can be deadly. They are addicting and should not be consumed in large amounts. "One of the concerns about energy drinks is how easy it is to drink large quantities of these sweet beverages" (How Exactly Do Energy Drinks... 3). Because energy drinks are extremely addictive, people drink more than the recommended serving size. In one energy drink, such as Monster or Amp, there is usually two to three servings in one can. Because of poor packaging, more and more people are becoming addicting and getting ill from consuming too much of this horrible drink.Energy drink manufacturers target the people that you would most expect to 'need' energy drinks and get addicted to them fast. "These drinks are marketed to people under thirty, especially to college students, and are widely available both on and off campus" (Caffeine and Energy Boosting Drugs... 1). They...