DIANE
SAWYER (ABC NEWS)(OC): Every day almost every American, 90% of us, consumes
caffeine in coffee, in tea, in soda and lately increasingly in energy drinks. Well, tonight a lawsuit
alleges one of those energy drinks
could be linked
to a death, raising
a question, senior national
correspondent Jim Avila gets answers
JIM
AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): Everyone knows caffeine can create
a body buzz,
make the hands
shake, hearts palpitate. But in high doses like those found in the
energy drink Monster, can it kill?
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
The FDA says it has received reports of five deaths and one heart attack
possibly linked to the energy drink and it is investigating diligently, but has
not confirmed they were caused by Monster.
WENDY CROSSLAND (MOTHER):
She had
no pulse but her heart
was still beating.
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
Wendy Crossland's 14-year-old daughter Anais died six days later and is one of those five deaths the FDA is looking into.
WENDY CROSSLAND (MOTHER):
She had
a 24-ounce Monster. That was it.
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
This picture of a too young to die teen has become the rallying
call for a crackdown
of energy drinks, accused of marketing
their hyper-caffeinated
drinks to young people. Senator Dick Durbin held it
up in the Senate.
SENATOR DICK DURBIN
(DEM) (ILLINOIS): She drank two 24-ounce Monster energy drinks in less than 24
hours and it took her life.
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
But is it possible for caffeine to be the true killer? Anais' death
certificate blames
cardiac arrhythmia
due to caffeine toxicity.
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
And of the most popular caffeine drinks you can down, Monster is way up near the top
of the list, more than a Starbucks
latte, more than four Cokes. And the energy drinks are built to chug, they even
have large openings in the can.
AMELIA ARRIA (UNIV OF
MARYLAND SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH): We've seen most of the health risks
associated with the consumption of energy drinks and not necessarily
coffee. And one of the reasons for that
could be that coffee is consumed while it's hot and more slowly.
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
But here's the thing, the adult lethal level of caffeine generally recognized
by doctors is 5,000 to 10,000 milligrams and it would take 31 to 62 cans of the
16-ounce Monster drank one after another to reach that point. Still physicians warn all that changes with
people who aren't healthy adults, such as children with underlying
conditions
like high blood pressure
and heart trouble
as Anais had.
JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO):
As for Monster, it says they've sold 8 million energy drinks and is unaware
of any fatality anywhere caused by its drinks.
Jim Avila, ABC News, New York.