• Sabin10@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      To be fair, it’s the same amount of sugar as most other sodas and had less caffeine than a typical coffee. The real issue is that a lot of their marketing targets a younger audience who probably shouldn’t be drinking caffeinated drinks yet.

      • lasagna@programming.dev
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        I say this as a long term caffeine for the rest of my life addict. Coffee + sugar is a wildly different effect than just coffee. I avoid sugar completely during my coffee hours.

        • sadbehr@lemmy.nz
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          2 years ago

          Hi. What’s the different effect? I’ve never considered that before.

          • suspecm@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            Coffein simply blocks the receptors in your body that send the signals to your brain that you are tired, while sugar is essentially pure energy. I’m no expert on this subject, but afaik both coffein and sugar increases blood pressure, which is probably not an ideal thing.

      • Amaltheamannen@lemmy.ml
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        2 years ago

        The most popular energy drinks in Sweden are sugar free but contain 180mg of caffeine, that’s two large cups of coffee.

        • Sabin10@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          A tall coffee at Starbucks has about 230mg of caffeine and that’s fairly typical. A large coffee at 90mg would either be 2/3rds decaf or incredibly watery.

          • szczuroarturo@programming.dev
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            2 years ago

            I dont think Starbucks is considered a cofee in europe. More like an american desert cofee honestly. And how large even is that? Half a liter? Typical cofee in europe is at max half of that.

          • JoBo@feddit.uk
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            2 years ago

            There are huge variations between chains in a single country, let alone between countries. And ‘large’ in the US likely means something very different to what ‘large’ means in different parts of Europe.

            But your point stands up, in general. Starbucks is noticeably low in caffeine (in the UK) and 90mg would be low in a medium (chain) coffee here:

            A medium cappuccino at Costa Coffee contains a “massive” 325mg of caffeine, almost five times the strength of the Starbucks version with a modest 66mg.

            By contrast, Greggs and Pret A Manger also use significantly less caffeine in a cappuccino of the same size, at 197mg and 180mg respectively. Caffè Nero had the second lowest levels of caffeine after Starbucks in this drink specifically, containing between 110mg and 115mg.

            The study also found that one single espresso from Pret A Manger contains 180mg of caffeine, or six times as much as its Starbucks counterpart. Pret’s filter coffee also contained the highest caffeine levels at 271mg, compared to 225mg at Greggs and 102mg at Starbucks.

      • severien@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Energy drinks often contain a bunch of other stuff - e.g. Taurine, which isn’t necessarily bad per se, as it eliminates some of the caffeine side effects (jitteriness), but that may arguably make it more addictive.

  • Jennie@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    eh, fair enough. teenage energy drink addiction has caused me years of insomnia. we already have an age restriction on energy drinks in the UK, though it’s 16 not 18

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      I don’t think that’s true anymore. The ban wasn’t formally finalised and was quietly dropped during the pandemic. The store I work at still sells energy drinks to under 16s. We used to have to check, but they changed it and took the warning off our tills.

      ETA: stores can implement their own policies though, if they do wish to age check people buying energy drinks.

      • Jennie@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        I have no idea what’s going on then lol. pretty much every shop I’ve been to has asked for ID when buying energy drinks

    • NewBrainWhoThis@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Reading those comments drops your IQ by 5 points. Now calculate the economic impact that will have… You can’t because reading this comment drops your IQ by another 5 points :(

      • Jennie@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        the whole point of banning energy drink sales to minors is that minors are at a higher increase of heart issues because their body can’t handle caffeine like adults. but sure, everyone else is the idiot on this one and “the economy” is definitely more important than kids’ health

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      2 years ago

      Yeah. Energy drinks are fucking scams.

      No wonder people who actually need energy don’t use them while those who sit on their ass all day do.

        • bobman@unilem.org
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          2 years ago

          The best workers are hydrating with good ol’ water.

          The kids are drinking ‘energy’ drinks.

      • szczuroarturo@programming.dev
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        2 years ago

        The thing is that they taste good. But there is no justification for their price tag( coca cola and pepsi sodas actually fall in the same bucket,quite good but why would you buy them for that price,especialy since it costs them next to nothing to make ).

        • suspecm@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          As far as I can tell, the difference between the brand colas and the non-brand ones, is that the brand ones don’t destroy my guts. 2 cups of the cheaper colas and I’m shitting liquid for a week.

  • Jumper775@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Absolutely a good thing. As someone who drank a lot of energy drinks in high school, it was not worth it.

    • littlecolt@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      Sadly, large amounts of caffeine were a way to control my ADHD when I couldn’t afford medication. I still usually have an energy drink daily, even though I’m medicated now. At least that’s less that what I used to do.

      • Jumper775@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        It’s not only much cheaper to not have a caffeine addiction, but it also I think makes me much more present as I don’t need caffeine in the mornings to function, and I get enough sleep. Just seems better to me.

        • newIdentity@sh.itjust.works
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          2 years ago

          No time for sleep when you either

          1. Need to work till 17:00 and then also do need to do even more when you’re home

          Or

          1. Party the whole night
      • BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        imagine if this whole thing was about cigarettes. id imagine people would be questioning why it wasnt age restricted sooner. caffeine and nicotine are practically the same type of addiction, but one of them is legal for almost anybody to get and the other is getting banned more and more

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            2 years ago

            When I was a teenager, we were shotgunning beers and smoking hash. A lot worse than a few energy drinks a month.

            When I was a teenager, I started drinking coffee before I went to school. Everyone was still half asleep and I couldn’t sit still as coffee was my energy drink. I regret it now because I need more caffeine to wake up.

          • C.Ezra.M@lemm.ee
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            Only those energy drinks that have artificially added caffeine or taurine are going to have their sales restricted to those over 18.

          • BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee
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            2 years ago

            not having caffeine for a few days gives withdrawal effects same as nicotine withdrawal effects (not exactly the same, but same idea if you get what im trying to convey)

    • bobman@unilem.org
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      2 years ago

      Red bull profits go brrrr.

      Curious why people drink energy drinks when they sit on their ass all day. Like, athletes don’t drink this shit lol; gamers do.

      • drathvedro@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        Shit’s addictive. As a long time smoker who tried energy drinks during crunch time, I can assure you the withdrawal symptoms and sharp decline in effectiveness is exactly like smoking.

        Don’t smoke nor drink energy drinks, kids.

        • DoomsdaySprocket@lemmy.ca
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          2 years ago

          Easier on the stomach than coffee, and free manufacturing break room coffee can be one of the harshest chemicals in industry.

  • bobman@unilem.org
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    2 years ago

    That’s not a bad idea.

    Now let’s stop calling them ‘energy’ drinks.

  • Mandy@sh.itjust.works
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    2 years ago

    Idk what y’all think but honestly I’d say these little cans of poison need a warning lable like cigarettes as well

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    2 years ago

    I hope this would also include products like “5 hour energy”, which are energy drinks, but in a smaller and even easier to shot down package.

      • Silverseren@kbin.social
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        2 years ago

        “excluding products where those substances occur naturally.”

        That seems like a dumb exception. It’s not like naturally occurring caffeine is somehow better for you. If it’s above that limit, then the law should apply to that as well.

        • Bigdude1420@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          It’s a lot easier to pass a law banning the sale of artificial drinks to minors than it is to ban coffee sales to minors.

          • uis@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            Artificial drinks, not caffeine? Coffee is artificial drink too because it is human-made.

            It nearly impossible to define energy-drinks in a way that does not include coffee, but include off-the-shelf drinks.

            • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.ml
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              2 years ago

              Coffee has its beans dried and roasted, then ground and seeped in water. If you’re going to call that artificial, then you are claiming that literally any cooked food is also artificial.

              • newIdentity@sh.itjust.works
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                Coffee has its beans dried and roasted

                Coffee beans are dried. Then beans then ungo a Maillard reaction, caramelisation, pyrolysis and decarboxilation to form new organic componds

                then ground and seeped in water

                Then ground to maximize the surface area. The prouder is then extracted using unpure H2O as solvent. A higher temperature is needed to raise the solubility of the compounds.

                • noli@programming.dev
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                  2 years ago

                  You can describe anything that’s consumed by people with chemical terms and it’s gonna sound unnatural.

                  You remind me of that old joke site warning people of the dangers of the chemical compound DHMO (dihydrogen monoxide)

              • uis@lemmy.world
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                2 years ago

                And you are correct.

                For those who think energy drinks are not the same, please point out at which stage coffee is no longer coffee and why:

                1. Make coffee
                2. Filter it
                3. Evaporate more water
                4. Add sugar
                • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.ml
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                  I’m gonna go with the step you didn’t list which is soaking them in dichloromethane or ethyl acetate for several hours, or submersing them in high pressure, supercritical carbon dioxide, to extract the pure caffeine. Then adding that pure caffeine into a mixture of artificial sugars, preservatives, and food dyes.

                  But sure, that’s totally the same as something that’s essentially a type of tea.

        • uis@lemmy.world
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          I would argue that naturally occurring caffeine is much worse than synthetic caffeine because it also contains rest of plant’s toxins and other not so good stuff.

          On the other hand not that anyone uses sunthetic caffeine in their drinks. It is expensive as hell.

    • echo64@lemmy.world
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      Those kind of things aren’t really popular outside of America. I only ever see them in America

  • Commiunism@lemmy.wtf
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    2 years ago

    This was also implemented in Lithuania around maybe 5 years ago. Some kids would still get it by asking their parents or strangers to buy them, but they definitely got more rare, to the point where at least where I am, you’d more often see a teen with a ciggie rather than a teen with an energy drink.

    • OfficerBribe@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      In Latvia this started on 2016, June 1st. Not sure if it ever was a big problem, I think this law came because there was an incident when some kid died.

      • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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        Similar thing happened in the US with Four Lokos after a bunch of college kids died but we only banned Four Lokos due to the alcohol and caffeine mix.

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    So are they going to ban coffee too for under 18’s as well or pretend that doesn’t contain the same/more caffeine than an energy drink?

    If it’s not the caffiene content thats the issue are they going to ban all soft drinks if you are under 18?

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        The EU is a regulatory hellscape and it’s one of the biggest problems the EU has.

    • systemglitch@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      You know, that wouldn’t bother me, and I’m a big advocate for personal choice and freedom.

        • SpiderShoeCult@sopuli.xyz
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          Coca cola? probably because they are Coca Cola. Also it’s like 10% sugar. Maybe energy drinks are higher in sugar?

          Solid things? That involves some effort - chewing - and you are less likely to eat that much sugar as opposed to chugging it down from energy drinks.

        • crashoverride@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Energy drinks have so much shit in it to help give you energy/keep you awake. Coke and other sodas have sugar and caffeine. And I never said that the others got a pass, they’re both bad for you, just one is way fucking worse.

  • Joshua Casey@lemmynsfw.com
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    2 years ago

    good for poland. I have a nickname for “Energy drinks”: Heart attacks in a can. If you want/need caffeine get a coffee or a pop like a normal person.

    • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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      What is it that makes coffee better for you than an energy drink? I know they usually have an obscene amount of sugar and caffeine, but you can get that in coffee too. I make a drink fairly often with 4 shots of espresso, around 250mg of caffeine. It doesn’t have that much sugar but I could easily add as much as I wanted. A normal cup of coffee would of course be much better than an energy drink, but if energy drinks should have restrictions then why shouldn’t coffee too?

      • TheGreenGolem@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        That’s what I don’t understand too. They can just buy a doubletripple espresso and add a lot of sugar to ease the taste. Maybe a bit of cinnamon hint too. What’s the real difference here?

        • CoderKat@lemm.ee
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          The difference is popular conception. Laws aren’t set based on science. They’re set based on what enough people believe. People believe energy drinks are worse and thus they get regulated whether or not it’s true.

          Advertising, audience, and stereotypes play a part in this too. Coffee is stereotypically consumed by older people, whereas energy drinks are often younger people (who older people find annoying). Coffee also has a much greater social acceptance that would make it controversial to regulate. End result is that it’s popular to limit energy drinks but unpopular to point out that coffee has far more caffeine.

          • uis@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            Laws aren’t set based on science.

            That is big problem in our societies.

          • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
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            It’s a weird trend. Products that are popular with youth and “seem” un-healthy get banned by populistic laws, despite limited evidence proving them actually being un-healthy.

            The other prominent example I can think is vaping. I don’t even vape, but it’s weird to see it demonized as much as cigarettes, when the evidence for it being as harmful is very limited.

        • pikmeir@kbin.social
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          It’s the convenience I think. You can carry an energy drink in your backpack all day and consume it whenever. A coffee is more motivated so you order it when you want to drink it. But of course there are exceptions. It seems the goal of this is just to cut down the caffeine by making large doses less convenient, not to remove caffeine completely.

      • bobman@unilem.org
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        2 years ago

        What is it that makes coffee better for you than an energy drink?

        He drinks coffee instead of energy drinks, therefore coffee is better.

        Same thing with drugs. All the drugs I do are okay, all the drugs everyone else does isn’t.

        It’s a childish mentality that we’ve yet to get over as a species, even in adulthood.

        • Joshua Casey@lemmynsfw.com
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          did you just make an assumption about what I consume? Damn, that makes you look pretty dumb. I don’t drink coffee, btw. I love the smell, never had it or tasted it. The only way caffeine gets into my body is through pop (Dr Pepper, preferably) and I guess chocolate since chocolate has caffeine. But definitely not the absurd levels of caffeine that energy drinks have

      • FLeX@lemmy.world
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        Everything makes coffee better. Energy drink is ultra processed crap, coffee is natural and has been used for centuries.

            • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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              Well according to you, being natural and having a long history means its safe. Are you now saying that maybe a substance’s origin has nothing to so with how dangerous it is?

          • sep@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            Probably more that the long term use of coffee is very well understood and researched. And while excessive use of anything is bad, coffee have not displayed issues bad enouhf that it needed regulation.

            A “coffee” at starbucks, or an energy drink Have more in common with a dessert, then water filtered thru ground up beans.
            And 3 desserts a day have quickly shown health issues.

            • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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              2 years ago

              A “coffee” at starbucks, or an energy drink Have more in common with a dessert, then water filtered thru ground up beans.

              Is your only problem the sugar? If so, don’t you think some coffee drinks should be regulated as well as energy drinks? That’s essentially my point, I don’t think it makes sense to enforce age restrictions on energy drinks but not on similar products too.

              If its the caffeine, then regular coffee isn’t necessarily better than an energy drink anyway. Caffeine content in coffee varies wildly based on numerous different factors. You can make a cup of black coffee with 265mg of caffeine in it, and it would even be cheaper than one with 100mg.

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      Good. When I was young, an energy drink almost gave me a heart attack because my heart was beating too fast. In my opinion, these drinks are dangerous.