There have been 13 deaths associated with the consumption of 4-hour Energy, the popular drink. The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that the 13 deaths have been reported to the FDA as "adverse events" after they drank the substance.
The FDA is investigating the claims, but CNN reports that it does not mean that the drink was the cause of deaths. 5-hour Energy is considered a dietary supplement and not required to state the amount of caffeine included in the drink. CNN reports that what they do say is that it has 1,870 milligrams of an "Energy Blend."
FOX News reported that the CEO of the company is denying suggestions that the drink is related to the 13 deaths that have occurred within the last four years.
Manoj Bhargava, 5-Hour Energy's CEO said to Fox News that blaming the drink for the death of these individuals is like comparing, "drinking a bottle of water today, and then thousands of people died the next day; that somehow it's linked. It's just false.
Caffeine is a good thing. The only things that we get about caffeine is from reporters, who really have no clue what caffeine does."
An FDA spokeswoman, Shelly Burgess said according to Fox News that the drink has been a part of 90 FDA filings since 200- that includes "more than 30 that involved serious or life-threatening events like heart attacks, convulsions and, in one case, a spontaneous abortion."
The New York Times reported last year that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that there were more than 13,000 people going to the emergency room in 2009, associated with energy drinks in general.
A spokeswoman for Living Essentials, Elaine Lutz, which is the company that distributes 5-hour Energy, said in a statement to Fox News that 5-hour energy "is not an energy drink," and Living Essentials "takes reports of any potential adverse event tied to our products very seriously. We fully comply with all of our reporting requirements."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
