Suffolk County Physician Calls for Federal Control of Energy Drink Marketing

WESTBURY, NY (07/30/2013)(readMedia)-- For Release Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Washington, DC...Suffolk County physician and legislator William Spencer, MD today called for strict controls on "energy drink" marketing practices in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

A trained pediatric otolaryngologist and Vice President of the Suffolk County Medical Society, Dr. Spencer was the original drafter of the American Medical Association (AMA) resolution calling for control of the way energy drinks were being marketed to youth. He also serves as Chair of the Suffolk County Health Committee.

The resolution had been discussed and passed by the Medical Society of the State of New York before being submitted to the AMA.

"It is even more egregious for athletes, kids in schools, kids that are in school playing, maybe even high school sports, to believe that energy drinks somehow will make you a better athlete, because they will not," said Dr. Spencer. "But, yet, this industry insists on calling their products energy drinks. They are not energy drinks. They give you a caffeine high and a sugar high and then you crash. They reduce your performance and add to fatigue....we are talking about children."

Spencer added that he would "not advise any parent to give their child one cup of coffee, and never multiple cups. This is about telling our children at a very young, very early age that it's okay to drink these products because you're going to feel great. These seemingly benign stimulants can be a precursor and gateway to using other drugs and alcohol as teenagers look for that next and better high feeling."

Hundreds of thousands of physicians across the nation agree that these products have the potential to harm our children and that the deceptive marketing practices of the industry are placing children in peril, contributing to addiction cycles of those who are vulnerable and taking away parents' power to make educated decisions about what their children should and can ingest, according to Spencer.

He asked the Committee to "consider restricting the marketing to children under 18 unless or until the products are proven to be safe and not habit forming." Spencer also called for an education campaign to empower parents to make educated decisions for their children and even teach adults about the potential side effects they may experience as a result of choosing to indulge in these products.