Finally! Someone (actually a few individuals) announced today that they are no longer going to continue pretending that Energy Drink companies are not marketing to our children. I am beyond thrilled. Today, Senators Markey, Blumenthal, Rockefeller, and Durbin sent letters out to 16 companies that manufacture energy drinks and energy shots asking them to voluntarily commit to not only the dozen steps they agreed to at a meeting in July but also asked them to go even further and commit to five more steps in the right direction, which is protecting our children from the harm that these products can and have done.
What they were asked to do is the following:
1. Stop marketing to kids
2. Stop promoting guzzling and/or drinking too many energy drinks
3. Do not promote mixing energy drink products with alcohol or other drugs
4. Especially do not market, sell or provide samples at schools (Grade K-12)
5. Tell us how much caffeine is in there
6. Report if something bad happens when someone drinks your product
Additionally they were asked to:
1. Restrict access to social media sites for kids under 18 years of age
2. Do not advertise anywhere where 35% or more of the audience is under 18 years of age
3. Do not sponsor a child less than 18 years of age. You see this in extreme sports like skateboarding where young kids wear energy drink logos.
4. Do not market energy drinks as sports drinks
5. If the caffeine content in energy drinks is more than that allowed in soda (70 mg per 12 oz) than they would have to display a warning label.
Read the letters here: (http://www.markey.senate.gov/energy_drinks.cfm)
You may be wondering why make it a request instead of passing a law about it. The reason for this is that something has to be done NOW to protect our kids; asking for a voluntary commitment worked with the cigarette industry; and it takes a very long time to pass a law such as this especially with such a powerful (rich) industry trying to prevent it.
What can you do? Let our senators know we agree with them by signing the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/manufacturers-of-energy-drinks-stop-advertising-energy-drinks-to-children
What they were asked to do is the following:
1. Stop marketing to kids
2. Stop promoting guzzling and/or drinking too many energy drinks
3. Do not promote mixing energy drink products with alcohol or other drugs
4. Especially do not market, sell or provide samples at schools (Grade K-12)
5. Tell us how much caffeine is in there
6. Report if something bad happens when someone drinks your product
Additionally they were asked to:
1. Restrict access to social media sites for kids under 18 years of age
2. Do not advertise anywhere where 35% or more of the audience is under 18 years of age
3. Do not sponsor a child less than 18 years of age. You see this in extreme sports like skateboarding where young kids wear energy drink logos.
4. Do not market energy drinks as sports drinks
5. If the caffeine content in energy drinks is more than that allowed in soda (70 mg per 12 oz) than they would have to display a warning label.
Read the letters here: (http://www.markey.senate.gov/energy_drinks.cfm)
You may be wondering why make it a request instead of passing a law about it. The reason for this is that something has to be done NOW to protect our kids; asking for a voluntary commitment worked with the cigarette industry; and it takes a very long time to pass a law such as this especially with such a powerful (rich) industry trying to prevent it.
What can you do? Let our senators know we agree with them by signing the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/manufacturers-of-energy-drinks-stop-advertising-energy-drinks-to-children
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