Monster Energy Drink Statement
Anderson speaks to mom Wendy about the death of her 14-year-old daughter due to caffeine toxicity. Anais, who also had a pre-existing heart condition, suffered cardiac arrest after drinking two Monster Energy drinks last December.
Monster issued a full statement in response to Anais' death.
We were saddened to hear about this tragedy, no matter what the cause. We first learned about the incident when we were contacted by a reporter several weeks ago. We have not been contacted by either the family or the coroner, so we have almost no facts, making it exceedingly difficult for us to comment.
Monster Energy drinks are completely safe, and we stand behind our products.
On an ounce per ounce basis, there is more than double the caffeine in the leading brand of brewed coffee than there is in Monster Energy drinks.
As stated in an independent report published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, "caffeine amounts in coffee-based drinks can vary wildly," and one 16-oz. cup of the leading brewed coffee brand has been shown to contain from 300 to 564 mg. of caffeine, which would be an average of 27 mg. per ounce. By comparison, two 24-oz. cans of Monster -- each can contains three servings -- contain a total of 480 mg of caffeine, or 10 mg. per ounce. In other words, the average amount of caffeine in a single venti-size cup of the leading brewed coffee exceeds the amount of caffeine in two 24-oz. cans of Monster Energy drinks combined. Additionally, in the case of Monster Energy drinks, the caffeine amount is consistent and controlled.
There are a number of questions that would need to be answered for us or anyone to be able to further comment factually:
Was a toxicology screen ever performed?
Was a caffeine screen ever performed?
Was the young woman engaged in any strenuous or other activity around the time of the incident?
Were any other products or substances consumed by the young woman around that time that could have contributed to the incident?
When did she consume the two separate cans, and how soon after she consumed the drinks did she become ill?
Were others present at the time of the incident, and were they consuming similar or any other products or substances, and if so, did they have any reaction to what they were consuming?
Had the young woman ever had a negative reaction to caffeine in the past?
Additionally, we note that many common products and substances can cause severe reactions.
Until all the facts are known, it is clear that there is no basis whatsoever for suggesting that Monster Energy drinks caused or indeed played any part in the incident.
Comments
i watched this episode the other day and i was shocked that someone died from a monster energy drink. i have been drinking at least four or five of them a day and i have never had a bad expericne or medical problem with them. i would like to know more about what that amount of caffine is suppose to do to someone because for me it is like having a glass of oj. thanks
My heart goes out to the family of Anais. My 16 year old daughter and I caught their story as we were sitting in our neurologist's office awaiting her final test results for a seizure-like episode she suffered this past April, in what we believe to be was energy drink related. She had newly become an energy drink consumer, as her friends enjoy them enthusiastically, and despite my objections, would have one every few days when she was out with them. Then on two occasions during the course of a five day period she suddenly fell ill: Hours after having one full can, she became unconscious, stopped breathing and began to shake uncontrollably. She would regain consciousness only after she was shaken but would pass out immediately and the pattern would start again, lasting for several hours. Unfortunately, she and her friends chose not to tell me until it happened a second time that week. A trip to the ER, several visits to the neurologist, and a handful of tests including an MRI, a CAT scan, 2 separate EEGs, blood work, and an EKG revealed nothing. She has no history of seizures, there were no drugs in her system, prescription or otherwise, and these 2 episodes were a first for her. The one and only thing that had changed in her day to day routine was the addition of the energy drinks. Needless to say, she no longer drinks them and has not had an episode since. I can not say for certain it was a Monster Drink but it was an energy drink, which I now believe need to be regulated in regards to teenage consumption. Yes, I do recognize that her friends have never had an adverse reaction and maybe there are some who are more sensitive than others. But in a simple internet search, I was able to find a study conducted on the effects of these beverages on teenagers and was amazed that the story I was reading eerily paralleled our experience. If anything, I now know I should be extremely thankful that it didn't turn out worse for our family. And judging from the look on my daughter's face while watching Anais' story, she also realizes how lucky she is.
This is such a tragic story, and being a mother myself, I have great sympathy. However, Monster Energy drinks literally have the amount of ingredients that are in their beverage and therefore this is just boiled down to being responsible for your own actions. You have to watch out for your own self and not make the company or a product responsible for something that happened to you. If you had a headache, would you take the whole bottle thinking it will help you even more? No, you could become very sick or it could be fatal to your health. This is the same with these energy drinks. You take it for energy, but limit your intake because caffeine is also a drug.
This is a great lesson to be learned. Again, I am so sorry for this families loss.
It is sad that these drinks can cause death. Even with the known health condition, what mother would warn their child about the water, milk or other items in the store on the same shelf as these drinks? We have all become to relaxed with the fact we thought the FDA was looking after us and that approval was sought before they were placed on the shelf for ANY child or ANY age to purchase. I for one would not have known about the dangers had it not been that I fail short in the knowledge of the dangers and lost my son of 19 years old to the same drink. If nothing else comes out of this, one thing for sure is that we want to let other parents know of the dangers and try to keep other children away from these drinks. Not all drinks sitting beside the milk, flavored waters or soda are safe, and incidentally when was the last time you walked into a store to purchase a drink and had to ask yourself, could this kill me? My point, is that we should not have those types of concerns over a product that our children can purchase without an age restriction and most importantly a parent needs to know these dangers to protect their child. Please forward this this interview that Anderson Cooper did, you could be saving the life of someone you love.
I was so saddened to hear about Anais' passing, and my thoughts and prayers are with her family. I too have recently found out that I have mitral valve prolapse, though for many years I've suffered from heart palpitations and other symptoms and was told by doctors that I simply was having panic attacks. My daughter had heart surgery for a congenital heart defect back in 1995, and I feel guilty now for letting her drink coffee and energy drinks (on occasion). I will think twice about letting her drink energy drinks in the future, especially knowing that they are not regulated by the FDA!
I watched your show when the family of a 14 yr. old girl, whom died after drinking 2 Monster Energy drinks in 24 hours were on your show. My issue is no one ever said "as a PARENT you need to communicate to your children in everyday conversation what things may be harmful to them"!!Knowing this child had a prolapsed heart valve, did the mother ever talk with her about things that could cause adverse effects to her? It's sad that these issues are addressed "after the fact". I would think being a more "proactive" parent may help avoid some of these tragedies!!
I have a Mitral Valve Prolapse and within the last week, i have been drinking a lot of those energy drinks because I was sick for over 2 weeks and also had no energy, so I thought I would try those drinks. I am so glad to find this out and I will definitely be careful when/if I decide to drink any energy drink. I can't believe someone can die from those even with a Mitral Valve Prolapse! Very scary!