Monster Energy Drink Cited in Deaths
By
BARRY MEIER
Five people may have died over the past three years after drinking
Monster Energy, a popular energy drink that is high in caffeine,
according to incident reports recently released by the
Food and Drug Administration.
The reports, like similar filings with the F.D.A. in cases involving
drugs or medical devices, do not prove a link between Monster Energy and
the deaths or other health problems. The records were recently obtained
under the Freedom of Information Act by the mother of a 14-year-old
Maryland girl who died in December from a heart arrhythmia after
drinking large cans of Monster Energy on two consecutive days.
Last week, Wendy Crossland, the mother of that teenager, filed a lawsuit
against Monster Beverage, a publicly traded company in Corona, Calif.,
that used to be known as
Hansen Natural.
The lawsuit charges that Monster failed to warn about the risks of its
energy drinks; a spokeswoman for the company said last week that its
products were safe and not the cause of the teenager’s death.
That spokeswoman, Judy Lin Sfetcu, added that Monster was “unaware of
any fatality anywhere that has been caused by its drinks.”
Monster Beverage’s stock ended down Monday more than 14 percent, sliding
sharply after The New York Times reported about the F.D.A. filings.
In an interview, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, Shelly Burgess, said the agency
had received reports of five deaths with possible links to the drink as
well as a report of a nonfatal heart attack. Additional incident reports
referred to other adverse events such as abdominal pain, vomiting,
tremors and abnormal heart rate. The reports disclosed cover a period of
2004 to June of this year, but all the deaths occurred in 2009 or
later.
The filings do not make clear whether the incidents involved other
factors, like alcohol or drugs. However, the number of reports that the
F.D.A. receives about any product it regulates usually understates by a
large degree the actual number of problems.
The release of the filings about Monster Energy may increase
Congressional calls for greater regulation of the energy products
industry. Monster Energy is among scores of energy drinks like Red Bull
and Rock Star, and energy “shots” like 5-hour Energy, that companies are
aggressively marketing to teenagers and young people.
In a statement, Ms. Burgess, the F.D.A. spokeswoman, said that it was
the responsibility of energy drink manufacturers to investigate
accusations of death or injuries associated with them. She said that the
agency was still looking into the cases but had yet to establish a
causal link between the deaths and the drink.
But the release of the F.D.A. reports may also raise questions about how
closely producers of energy products monitor their safety or whether
the F.D.A. reviews those activities.
Late Monday, Ms. Sfetcu, the Monster Beverage spokesman, said that the
company had not received copies of the F.D.A. incident filings about
possible fatalities associated with its products apart from the one
filed in connection with the December death of the Maryland teenager,
Anais Fournier. She said she did not know whether the company actively
monitored the F.D.A. database that collects reports about such
incidents.
Monster Beverage makes a variety of energy drinks with names like
Monster Rehab, Monster Assault and Monster Heavy Metal. Labels on the
containers state that they are “not recommended” for some consumers,
including children — a group that beverage producers define as those
under 12 years — and people “sensitive” to caffeine.
Under current F.D.A. rules, companies are not required to disclose
caffeine levels in their beverages and can choose to market them as
drinks or as dietary supplements. Those regulatory categories have
differing labeling and ingredient rules.
While healthy adults can safely consume large quantities of caffeine
from sources like coffee, tea and energy drinks, the drug, which acts as
a stimulant, can pose risks to those with underlying conditions like
heart disorders.
The type of 24-ounce can of Monster Energy that the Maryland teenager,
Anais Fournier, drank contains 240 milligrams of caffeine.
The lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the teenager referred to
autopsy and medical examiner reports that said she had died of “cardiac
arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity” that had exacerbated an existing
heart problem. The report also showed that the teenager had
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which can affect the body’s connective tissue,
including blood vessels. A lawyer for her family, Kevin Goldberg, said
that the 14-year-old had been aware she had an underlying heart
condition but added that her doctors had not told her to restrict her
physical activities or her caffeine use.
In an April letter citing the teenager’s death, Senator Richard J.
Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, urged the F.D.A. to enforce caffeine
levels in energy drinks.
In August, F.D.A. officials responded by saying that there was
insufficient evidence to take action on caffeine levels in energy
drinks. However, the agency also noted then that it had not yet received
medical reports related to the Maryland teenager’s death.