Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to look into the effects the energy drink PRIME has on children after findings suggest it contains 200 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of six cans of Coke or two cans of Red Bull. YouTube influencers Logan Paul and KSI founded PRIME last year which quickly rose in popularity among young consumers.
Although PRIME’s disclaimer on its site says it “is not recommended for children under 18,” the long lines at grocery stores have suggested that consumers are not adhering to the recommendation.
“One of the summer’s hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit or a toy—it’s a beverage,” Schumer said at a Manhattan press conference on Sunday, The New York Post reported. “But buyers and parents beware because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets,” he added.
The company sells an alternative to its highly caffeinated product, called PRIME Hydration, which it says contains no caffeine. However, Schumer says the packaging is too similar to other sports non-caffeinated sports drinks, saying it’s packaged “in nearly identical form.”
The product’s marketing on Paul’s and KSI’s platforms (which have a collective 47.7 million followers) makes it easy to reach a mass audience that includes many younger viewers. “And the problem here,” Schumer said at the conference, “is that the product has so much caffeine in it that it puts Red Bull to shame.”
While caffeine in moderation isn’t considered particularly harmful, the FDA warns that too much can put your health at risk, particularly in young children. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages children 12 years and younger from consuming any caffeine, and says those between the ages of 12 and 18 should not consume more than 100 mg of caffeine each day, half the amount in a can of PRIME. According to the FDA, excessive caffeine consumption can cause insomnia, jitters, anxiousness, fast heart rate, nausea, headache, and dysphoria.
Some U.S. schools have gone so far as to ban PRIME for students, and in an alleged school email reposted by KSI on Twitter, students were told the drink would be confiscated if they brought it on school grounds and selling it to other students was cause for expulsion. Alongside the photo of the email, KSI wrote: “A school had the AUDACITY to ban Prime, leaving their students dehydrated. To counter this blatant wrongdoing, we’ll be sending a truckload of Prime to this school and many other schools.”
PRIME has been banned in some countries including Australia and the UK where one boy in Wales reportedly suffered cardiac arrest after consuming the energy drink. The school reportedly told parents in a letter, “This morning a parent has reported that their child has had a cardiac episode over the weekend after drinking a Prime energy drink,” the Yorkshire Evening Post reported. “The child had to have their stomach pumped and although better now the parent wanted us to share this as a reminder of the potential harmful effects,” it added.
In a letter to the FDA, Schumer urged an investigation into PRIME, writing, “The website features insufficient warnings about caffeine content, despite the eye-popping amount,” Gothamist reported. “Again, I urge your agency to investigate PRIME for its overall claims, its marketing, and the caffeine content, and to seriously consider PRIME’s target market of children as part of any investigation.”
PRIME did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
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