Two years ago, Jim Shepard’s teenage son, Brian, died. The 15-year-old was competing in a paint-ball tournament when he collapsed and stopped breathing.
Just hours later in hospital, Brian’s heart stopped. His autopsy showed he was a healthy teen with no heart problems of any kind.
But something took Brian’s life and Shepard is convinced he knows what that something is. “Red Bull was there that day, handing out Red Bull drinks,” he told Global News’ current affairs program 16:9 The Bigger Picture.
“Brian was witnessed drinking one of these drinks. To me it was a perfect storm.”
Now Shepard is on a mission to warn others about a product he considers dangerous. He told 16:9 he thinks current regulations are useless without enforcement.
“What really frustrates me,” he said, “Is when I hear industry say we have the strongest regulations in the world. The regulations are mere words.”
Since the first of their kind hit store shelves in the mid-1990s, energy drinks have skyrocketed to a $5-billion dollar industry in North America.
They are everywhere – in convenience stores and grocery stores, at concerts and sporting events.
The cans promise a quick, intense energy boost. The marketing is all about cool and attitude. And the labels include stimulants like taurine, ginseng, guarana and caffeine.
They’ve become one of Canada’s most popular drinks. Though Health Canada says they’re for adult use only, one in three teens say they drink them regularly and, in some instances, energy drink marketing practices don’t seem to discriminate.
Just this past June, for example, 16:9 discovered Red Bull products were handed out to students at Winnipeg’s Kelvin High School. The message that accompanied those cans?
“After all the stress of these past weeks, the first thing you should do is take a flight up to party heaven,” said the written message. “And Red Bull will give you the wings you need to get there.”
16:9 asked Red Bull to explain and the company issued the following statement, “Red Bull has designed its marketing practices to be in full compliance with Health Canada regulations.”
In fact, none of the energy drink companies involved in 16:9’s investigation granted an interview to explain their marketing practices.
Meanwhile, 16:9’s cameras caught the makers of energy drink Rockstar giving samples of their product to teens.
How dangerous could these drinks be to kids? University of Toronto caffeine expert, Ahmed El-Sohemy told 16:9 even relatively low levels of caffeine can be a serious health risk.
“There’s been some evidence, “he said, “that in some individuals, caffeine can cause an increase in heart rate, spikes in blood pressure, and for some people who have a possible genetic predisposition to heart disease, it could act as a trigger for a heart attack.”
Add this to the fact that some energy drinks contain as much as double the maximum amount of caffeine Health Canada says is safe for a child under the age of 13, and the concern becomes more acute.
Dr. Paul Hebert, the editor of the Canadian Medical Association journal told 16:9 parents shouldn’t give kids caffeine lightly.
“Caffeine is a drug,” he said. “Be very careful how you give it if you give it at all.” PEI’s chief health officer, Dr. Lamont Sweet took his concern a step further. “The energy drinks have an addictive compound,” he told 16:9.
“Youth, in particular, can become addicted and certainly there have been indications that youth have been one of the major targets of the energy drink industry. There is a major concern that we have that it is the new tobacco.”
What do the manufacturers have to say about these safety concerns? 16:9 asked Refreshments Canada to comment on the safety of energy drinks.
They turned down the interview request, giving 16:9 a written statement that said “energy drinks products that are sold in Canada have been established as safe by Health Canada.”
But the issue hasn’t escaped Health Canada’s notice. Just days after 16:9’s energy drinks investigation was initially broadcast, Health Canada issued a warning that there might be a link between the drinks and seizures.
In a follow-up interview with 16:9, Dr. Robin Marles, director of natural health products directorate for Health Canada, expressed Health Canada’s concern over energy drinks marketing practices.
“Our health products and food branch inspectorate has been aware of the instances that you mention and others,” he told 16:9.
“Health Canada has not been doing spot checks at this point, but it’s something we are moving towards. Right now we will most definitely follow up on any complaints we receive.”
What exactly that follow-up will be remains to be seen. After several requests for an interview with Canada’s Health Minister were turned down, 16:9 tracked down Minister Leona Aglukkaq. Minister Aglukkaq told 16:9 it’s too early to say what changes will come, if any.
“We are going to have to investigate. Once we have concluded the investigation,” she said, “We’ll be able to determine the next steps we have to take.”
One of those steps is a new expert panel, appointed by Health Canada to investigate energy drinks and the energy drink industry.
Jim Shepard is hopeful this step will be the first of many. The loss of his son, Brian, is with him every day, motivating him to keep pushing for change.
“I don’t want him to die in vain,” Shepard told 16:9. “I don’t want anyone else to live with the questions my family does.”
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