City Sues Monster Energy Drinks For Marketing To Kids

As a city sues Monster energy drinks for marketing to kids, some parents might be wonder whether the Monster lawsuit by San Francisco means the energy drinks are dangerous to your health.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the last Monster beverage lawsuit was by the parents of Anais Fournier, who claimed the consumption of two Monster energy drinks within two days led to the death of their teenage daughter. But while the Monster lawsuit claimed “caffeine toxicity” as the cause of death the blood tests did not show this to be a problem.

Lawyers for the city suing Monster Beverage Corporation are claiming that scientific findings show energy drinks may cause “significant morbidity in adolescents” from elevated blood pressure, brain seizures, and severe cardiac events. As such, California law prohibits the marketing of highly-caffeinated energy drinks to children.

A 24-ounce can of Monster contains 240 milligrams of caffeine. A 16-ounce cup of coffee from Starbucks, by comparison, has 330 milligrams, while a more normal sized cup of coffee has only 100 milligrams.

The office of San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera had been investigating the marketing and sales practices of Monster, so Monster preemptively sued San Francisco. In response, the city sued Monster for its marketing practices in a race to put themselves before a judge.

Herrera explained why the city of San Francisco is suing Monster:

“Monster Energy is unique among energy drink makers for the extent to which it targets children and youth in its marketing, despite the known risks its products pose to young people’s health and safety. Consumption of highly caffeinated energy drinks by children has been widely condemned by pediatricians and scientists, and the NCAA has banned its member institutions from providing these products even to college athletes because of the grave safety risks. When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week announced its investigation into the addition of caffeine to products like Monster, it expressed particular concern about aggressive marketing to young people. Yet Monster Energy remains defiant. As the industry’s worst-offender, Monster Energy should reform its irresponsible and illegal marketing practices before they’re forced to by regulators or courts.”

As a city sues Monster Beverage Corporation, do you think energy drinks are harmful to your health?