Well it is quite obvious that these drinks can be harmful, even fatal, as more and more complaints are made to our poisons line, about their effects.

Mixed with alcohol they can be lethal, but that doesn't stop the clubs and puns selling them, cause their main concern is about profits.

So, do we just sit back and wait for a few more deaths, or do we grow some balls and do something about it.

I just can't believe how slow governments are to act.

I say don't wait.. ban alcohol now and keep the energy drinks.

Why do you want to legislate everything? Stay the fcuk out of our lives! If stupid people want to drink stupid drinks that's their stupid problem. Why should it concern you? Who do you think you are, their ruler or something? I've had it with this country's mentality of ban everything. It's not Australia anymore, it's not the lucky country anymore, it's become the land of unobtanium, disgusting!

Class act raw mustard, well no not really.
I was not aware Rectub it alone, was killing.
But well aware we should take a long look at why it is sold.
The young get hooked on energy drinks and a pure caffeine pill that came out 45 years ago, a real danger.
Some will always say stay out of our lives.
You can bet it will not be the parents of a dead kid.
Recent deaths highlight LEGAL DRUGS sold as copy's of the worst are legally being sold every day in a shop near you.
No idea why.

I here you RM, but these are legal drugs and the sellers are targeting kids.

The other issue is that it has been proven that these drinks mask the effects of alcohol.

I am afraid I have to disagree with you on this one.

The median lethal dose (LD50) for caffeine given orally, is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats. It's harder to get exact figures for humans - toxicity studies on human subjects are not ethical - but the oral LD50 in humans is estimated to be between 150 and 200 mg/kg.

At about 65kg, it would take about 90 cups of coffee to kill me or about 70 cans of Monster. I'm a tea drinker so if I wanted to fatally overdose on caffeine I'd have to drink about 230 cups of tea.

I'm with TPP: I think it might the alcohol that's the problem here not the energy drinks. But I've been watching Boardwalk Empire and I don't think banning it is a good idea.

Cheers,

Tony

I think you should ban kebab shops myself. They are the reason people throw up in the early hours of the morning. It's nothing to do with the alcohol consumed.

Also I think Tequila is lethal. Every time my mate drinks it he throws up. He wont have it that the 12 pints he drunk before the tequila contributed to the problem in any way.

The funny thing is he still thinks it's a good idea to drink shots of the stuff, when his belly is too full after all that beer.

The larger issue is whether we need laws to protect idiots. I think it's a human rights issue. It's a fundamental human right to be an idiot.

Energy drinks are a problem as they don't give one enough energy to complete the requirements of being a 'tops' as in 'you're tops' person these days.

Soma is a commin'! Companies already sponsor drug use in providing coffee so their workers can work faster, but I think it would raise GDP if they provided Red Bull or even coke instead, like so many marketing departments do. The Colombian marching powder that is, not that drink that's got all the other chemicals in it but still uses the name coke.

I'm with you, Houellebecq.

>>I think you should ban kebab shops<<

The gumment should also ban all forms of alcohol, as it is known to cause every known personal disaster, from turning up at A&E on a Saturday night with burns from a game of Flaming Ar5eholes, to teenage pregnancy. (Hopefully, not simultaneously. That would not be a good look at all).

The list of what the gumment should ban forthwith is actually quite extensive. Smoking, obviously. Of any substance. Can't have people enjoying themselves.

And empty those beaches, immediately. Water is known to be dangerous. So are roads. Ban those... oh, wait, just ban cars, and insist that everyone uses public transport. Only not all at once, please - that would be daft.

Hang on though. Most accidents occur in the home, they tell us. Well, I hear you say, we can hardly ban people from their own homes, surely? All I can say to that is... think of the children.

http://www.rospa.com/homesafety/adviceandinformation/general/preventing-accidents.aspx

There are fifty-five warnings in this page alone. I reckon they should all be made law. Right now. Especially this one:

"Wear appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes when mowing the lawn and keep your feet and hands well away from the mower blades".

It would give new impetus to Neighbourhood Watch, dobbing in a neighbour who tries to sneak out and mow his lawn wearing an Ermenegildo Zegna suit and Crocs.

Yep, I think the gumment is far too lenient. There are tons of things they could ban, if they put their minds to it. A quick call to the EU, who have had decades of practice at this, should set them on the right track.

Do not be a spoil sport foot path pizza is an art form.

Jeez, how much caffeine do you have to drink to mask the effects of alchohol?
In my misspent youth we used to take amphetamines, stay up all friday night through to late saturday night then crash and sleep all Sunday, we'd drink a load of grog on top of it and though the speed held it off it caught up after a while and we'd suddenly find ourselves well and truly wrecked.
I've ben teeotal for a long time so I've no experience of these "energy drinks", they must be bloody strong.

I can assure you, I am no prude, however, I think the problem with energy drinks is that they target kids.

Now there is enough evidence to suggest they can be harmful and, despite all those saying we can't control idiots, they are kids. Full stop!

There must come a time when young lives are put ahead of profits.

"There must come a time when young lives are put ahead of profits."

Yeah you're right.

And those adverts about funeral insurance, jeezuz they're insidious crap.

I'm with you on the ads for funeral insurance! The last thing I want when relaxing in front of the TV is to think about my impending death.

As for energy drinks, though ... I have never really tried them (I think I had a V once, but don't remember any amazing energy boost so must be wrong). Either they're a sham or they're dangerous when consumed excessively. I'd say it's a bit of both.

What I don't like about them is that they bring out the same whingers as coffee. You know, the people who blame their mid-morning vagueness on the coffee 'not kicking in yet'. I'm not entirely convinced that a single cup of coffee has significant enough physiological effects to 'kick in' and make some vague git a bit less vague. I'm sure I've read of studies that prove otherwise. So it's a placebo - it's the experience of having coffee that wakes someone up, rather than the coffee itself. The needy convince themselves that they are ready to face the world now that they've had their coffee.

But back to energy drinks - I suspect the same is true. I used to teach at a school very close to a Night Owl convenience store, and the trail of discarded Red Bull/Monster/Mother/Whatever cans from the store to the school was noticeable, as was the kids' belief that they couldn't function because they'd only had one Mother today. It's hooking them in at a young age and giving them an excuse for lethargy. Clever marketing, I guess, but irritating for those of us who aren't substance abusers and just want to get on with our days.