Monster Drinks Target of New Lawsuit Over Marketing to Children in Wake of Teen's Death
Monster Beverage Corp. is the target of a new investigation after claims were made that the company is targeting children in their marketing campaign.
The investigations are being led by New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco city attorney general Dennis Herrera who both filed lawsuits claiming the company is marketing to children.
The lawsuits follow reports from last year when a 14-year-old's death was thought to be the result of consuming a large amount of the beverage in a 24-hour period.
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However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has insisted that there is no concrete evidence that the beverages directly led to the teen's death.
The girl, Anais Fournier of Maryland, began having problems after drinking two 24-ounce cans of the Monster beverage within a 24-hour period. She then later went into cardiac arrest and died.
But the maker of the energy drink fought back against allegations that the caffeine levels in their drinks are unsafe for adolescent consumption.
Monster's lawyer, Daniel Callahan, revealed that the company hired a team of doctors to examine the medical records in the case. The documents showed that the young girl died of natural causes resulting from her pre-existing heart condition, according to the Associated Press.
Callahan added that the autopsy report was inaccurate, as it was based partly on interviews with Fournier's mother, who detailed that her daughter had consumed the energy drinks before her death.
However, the energy drink's maker said that no blood test was performed that could confirm if the girl had died from "caffeine toxicity."
The two drinks that Fournier consumed contained a combined total of 480 milligrams of caffeine, about 14 cans of Coca-Cola, which is about five times the amount that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.
According to health experts, caffeinated Monster drinks contain on average 240 mg, but the daily recommended caffeine-intake for minors is 100 mg.
