Should Soft Drinks Be Taxed to Help Pay for Health Care Reform?
I told you in yesterday’s article about the dangers of soda. Well, how about so-called “energy drinks,” and in particular, Red Bull, the best-selling energy drink in the world? Red Bull is produced and sold by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. In 2006 there were three billion cans sold. The motto for the drink is “It gives you Wings.” What with its high sugar and caffeine content, it’s understandable that it will give you energy and “wings” – although it’s not a healthy type of energy that it gives you. It contains 21.5 grams of sucrose, 5.25 grams of glucose, and 80 mg of caffeine. The caffeine in Red Bull is equal to the amount found in an average cup of coffee, although it’s twice the amount found in a can of Coke. A sugar-free version is available, sweetened with aspartame and sucralose, instead of sucrose and glucose. Commonly reported adverse effects due to caffeine used in the quantities present in Red Bull are insomnia, nervousness, headache, and rapid heartbeat. The results
