Popular Energy Drink Marketed Towards Children Criticized for Having High Caffeine Content

Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, has raised concerns about the high caffeine content of the popular energy drink, Prime. He has called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate the drink and claims it is being marketed to children as “one of the summer’s hottest beverages for kids.”

Schumer explained that one can of a Prime Energy drink contains double the caffeine of a can of Red Bull and six times more caffeine than a can of Coca-Cola. Although the company does not recommend the beverage for anyone under the age of 18, Schumer claims the product is gaining popularity on social media and children are seeing it as they scroll.

At a press conference in New York, Dr. Edith R. Bracho-Sanchez, alongside Schumer, warned that the high amounts of caffeine found in Prime Energy drinks can “cause children to have headaches, jitters, anxiety, nervousness, and sleeping problems,” per CNN.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is recommended that children under the age of 12 consume no caffeinated beverages and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 should limit their intake to less than 100 milligrams a day.