This post will give you wings

Can I open this post by saying I don't like energy drinks. I think even Coffee overindulgence is wrong. Anything that causes an addiction can not be good for you. However energy drinks are something I try hard to stay away from. Personally a few times when I have drunk an energy drink it has sent my heart racing in a bad way. I'm unable to think properly and it just feels wrong. And I haven't had 3 or 4 cans at a time just one. I've also seen kids come to school and be bouncing off the walls all morning then crashing in the early afternoon. quizzing them you find out they have had 3 energy drinks in the morning. But 'clearly there is no scientific link' according to the advertising executives who responded to a yr 7 letter sent to them last year. These are the people who tell you if you have an exam tomorrow and you haven't studied for it- don't worry have a can of our product and no only do you not need to study you can have sex all night as well. Or you can become a ninja just by drinking the product. And as Nathan always says "who doesn't want to be a ninja?" Yes i get that it is the fastest growing area of drink retail. but Red bull Germany tried something new. According to news.com.au

RED Bull Cola may be banned in Germany after traces of cocaine were found in samples of the drink.

Six German states have ordered retailers to stop selling the beverage and more are expected to follow this week.

Samples of the popular drink examined by the German food authorities were found to contain 0.4 micrograms of cocaine per litre. They were said the have been caused by the method of processing a cocoa leaf.

'The institute examined Red Bull Cola in an elaborate chemical process and found traces of cocaine,' Bernhard Kuehnle, head of the food safety department at the German federal ministry for consumer protection said.

Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said the cocaine level was too low to pose a health risk. It planned to produce a more detailed report tomorrow.

A spokesperson for Red Bull Australia said: "Germany authorities have raised concerns regarding Red Bull Cola due to the use of a decocainised coca leaf extract in the product. We are in contact with the authorities to clarify the issue.

"Decocainised Coca leaf extracts are used as flavouring in foodstuffs around the world and are considered as safe (eg FDA Gras Status, Council of Europe). Red Bull Cola and other foodstuff containing such extracts may therefore be sold legally.

"Recent product analysis has confirmed that the leaf extract use in Red Bull Simply Cola is safe."

New Zealand woman fighting Red Bull addiction

Meanwhile in New Zealand, a 23-year-old mother who lost 45kg in eight months by drinking nothing but Red Bull says she has ongoing health problems because of the diet.

Brooke Robertson shrank from 105kg to 60kg drinking nothing but 10 to 14 cans a day.

"I just started drinking it. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating - I was exhausted,'' she told the Herald on Sunday.

"I just continued to drink it because it's an appetite suppressant and I noticed I was losing weight so stuck with it.''

Following a minor heart attack, Ms Robertson was admitted to hospital where she was weaned off Red Bull.

"I managed to wean myself off it by being in hospital for that long but I had severe withdrawals - sweating, nausea, shaking. It was an addiction. The doctors stated that.''

She said she has a heart murmur, gets severe pain and cramping in her stomach and bowel, and suffers anxiety attacks.

A Red Bull spokesman said there was “scientific evidence that caffeine is not addictive”.

Red Bull is available in 148 countries. It is banned in Norway, Denmark and Uruguay and now Germany because of health fears.

Banned is a pretty strong word, I probably wouldn't go that far. But I would like to see it not able to be sold to kids, regulated and taxed. less people will buy it then.