--- title: Senators Call for More Transparency in Energy Drink Industry description: Senators say energy drink companies should not market to youth under age 18 canonical: https://time.com/3661633/most-energy-drink-companies-market-to-minors-report-finds/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-09T22:20:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:26:36.832Z article:section: Health og:title: Most Energy Drink Companies Market to Minors, Report Finds og:description: Here's what three senators found in their investigation og:url: https://time.com/3661633/most-energy-drink-companies-market-to-minors-report-finds/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9318e088497e3eed/698779180b72e3550c6dd0c3/154949060-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: 154949060 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Most Energy Drink Companies Market to Minors, Report Finds twitter:description: Here's what three senators found in their investigation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9318e088497e3eed/698779180b72e3550c6dd0c3/154949060-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Most Energy Drink Companies Market to Minors, Report Finds > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 9, 2015 10:20 PM UTC  Drink can Drink can Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jan 9, 2015 10:20 PM UTC There’s no denying the energy drink industry is booming, with 60% growth between 2008 to 2012\. But a [new report](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2014-12-30-report%5Fbuzzkill%5Fenergydrinks%5Fscreenv.pdf) from three U.S. senators raises questions about one particular segment of the market that’s growing: minors. The report, titled “[Buzz Kill](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2014-12-30-report%5Fbuzzkill%5Fenergydrinks%5Fscreenv.pdf),” is part of senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)’s ongoing investigation into the energy drink industry. Their primary concerns are lack of regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the drinks, which may pose health problems for kids, adolescents and teens. In 2013, the three senators sent letters to 16 energy drink companies asking about their willingness to report any adverse reactions to their products as well as to voluntarily submit to restrictions against marketing to young people. In “Buzz Kills,” the senators report that just four of the 12 companies say they avoid marketing their energy drink to people under 18. “Unfortunately, as long as early development of brand loyalty is seen as a competitive market advantage, energy drink companies will continue with the practice of marketing to teens in the absence of regulation that prohibits it,” the report reads. The American Beverage Association has long [offered guidance](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2014-energy-drinks-guidance--approved-by-bod-43020.pdf) to the beverage industry on labeling, advisory statements, and marketing to children, recommending voluntary statements that the drinks are not recommended for kids and that the products not be promoted at K-12 schools. While several energy drink companies, including Red Bull and Monster, have made a commitment not to market to kids 12 and under, some critics say people over age 12 are still at risk for possible health consequences, like neurodevelopment interactions and heart-related effects. In response to the report, American Beverage Association spokesperson Christopher Gindlesperger said this, in a statement: --- > “” --- Based on current regulations, the companies are not breaking rules. An FDA regulatory category for “energy drinks” does not exist, and companies can file their energy drinks to the FDA as either foods or dietary supplements. Some companies do not need to label the amount of caffeine in their products, and others are not required to report adverse health events linked to their products. Given the regulatory confusion, the report authors say the FDA and manufacturers need to make some changes for better transparency. The senators call on the FDA to set a recommendation for the amount of caffeine a child or adolescent can safely consume each day. They also argue that all energy drink companies should commit to providing adverse-event reports to the FDA, and companies should stop promoting their beverages as “sports drinks.” You can read the full report, [here](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2014-12-30-report%5Fbuzzkill%5Fenergydrinks%5Fscreenv.pdf). As the energy drink market continues to grow, and research continues to develop, the debate over whether energy drinks should be allowed in the hands of teens will continue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3661633/most-energy-drink-companies-market-to-minors-report-finds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3661633/most-energy-drink-companies-market-to-minors-report-finds/"},"headline":"Most Energy Drink Companies Market to Minors, Report Finds","datePublished":"2015-01-09T22:20:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:26:36.832Z","description":"Senators say energy drink companies should not market to youth under age 18","url":"https://time.com/3661633/most-energy-drink-companies-market-to-minors-report-finds/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Teens","Energy drinks","red bull","rockstar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9318e088497e3eed/698779180b72e3550c6dd0c3/154949060-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9318e088497e3eed/698779180b72e3550c6dd0c3/154949060-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"154949060","caption":"154949060","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3661633/most-energy-drink-companies-market-to-minors-report-finds/","name":"Most Energy Drink Companies Market to Minors, Report Finds"}}]}] ```