Energy Drinks

Amid increasing scrutiny of the fast-growing energy drink industry, federal health officials are investigating reports that five people have died since 2009 after consuming Monster Beverage Corp.'s energy drinks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it hadn't established a link between Monster energy drinks and the reports it has received concerning five deaths and another non-fatal heart attack. The government inquiry comes after a Maryland couple sued the Corona company last week in California for negligence and wrongful death in connection with the death of their 14-year-old daughter, Anais Fournier.

Despite such speedy-sounding names as Full Throttle, Amp and Rush, energy drinks pack a punch that is generally no stronger than coffee, according to Consumer Reports. A comparison of 12 popular energy drinks, published in Consumer Reports' September issue, found that the caffeine in 8 ounces of various brands ranged from 50 to 145 milligrams, though most were in the 75-to-80-milligram range.

Relaxation drinks aren't nearly as popular as energy drinks, but they're coming on strong, according to manufacturers showcasing their wares at the Natural Products Expo Friday in Anaheim. Energy drinks are hugely popular. But some have gotten a bad rap for potential side effects, especially in children and young adults, such as anxiety, heart palpitations and high blood pressure. That has opened the door to relaxation drinks, some of which may trigger their own set of health problems.

In Los Angeles, where medical marijuana dispensaries outnumber Starbucks and McDonald's restaurants combined, a mood-altering beverage with a cannabis-oriented marketing campaign is gaining traction. Southern California has become the bestselling market for Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties. Matt Moody, a Denver nutritional supplement developer who created the beverage, said the name is an unabashed reference to weed, though the relaxant compounds in kava are chemically unrelated to those in marijuana.

The increasingly popular high-caffeine beverages called energy drinks may do more than give people a jolt of energy -- they may also boost heart rates and blood pressure. The drinks generally have high levels of caffeine and taurine, an amino acid that can affect heart function and blood pressure. "We saw increases in both blood pressure and heart rate in healthy volunteers who were just sitting in a chair watching movies. They weren't exercising.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a preliminary injunction that had prevented National Beverage Corp. from selling its Freek energy drinks, dealing a blow to rival Hansen Natural Corp. of Corona. The court said Hansen's popular Monster energy drinks were distinguishable from the Freek brand and others on the market, and therefore consumer confusion was unlikely. A district court had earlier issued a tentative ruling in favor of Hansen, preventing Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

PepsiCo Inc.'s South Beach Beverage Co. filed a lawsuit asking a judge to back its right to use the name SoBe Adrenaline Rush for one of its energy drinks. South Beach said it paid R.J. Corr Naturals Inc. and Rush Beverage Co. $30,000 to avoid a lawsuit over Corr's ownership claims for the word "Rush" on drinks. Rush Beverage, based in Blue Island, Ill., filed its own suit Monday, accusing South Beach and PepsiCo of trademark infringement and fraud.

Twenty-five states asked beverage maker MillerCoors on Wednesday to abandon plans for a new caffeine-infused alcoholic energy drink. Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal said in a statement that the Sparks Red drink was a "recipe for disaster" because adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages reduces drinkers' sense of intoxication. Blumenthal, California Atty. Gen.

San Francisco City Atty. Dennis Herrera has sued Monster Beverage Corp., accusing the company of pitching highly caffeinated drinks to minors as young as 6 years old. The lawsuit, filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, is the latest twist in a battle between Herrera and the Corona company about the caffeine content of Monster energy drinks and how the beverages are marketed. Herrera's move followed Monster's opening salvo April 29, when the company sued Herrera in federal court in Riverside, alleging that he was singling out the beverage maker and threatening to block sales of its drinks in their current form.

On the cover of the daily "Incident Action Plan" for the Station fire is an unusual warning: "No energy drinks." Even though firefighters expend a tremendous amount of energy, officials said high levels of caffeine in many energy drinks can be dangerous. "It's been a concern," said Nathan Judy of the U.S. Forest Service. "When they drink those things, it dehydrates them." Judy said that during a previous fire some years back, a firefighter consumed four cans of Red Bull in one day and went into diabetic shock.