COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – Some South Carolina lawmakers want to do what no other state has done and make it illegal to sell energy drinks to kids.
This comes nearly a year after a Midlands teen died of a caffeine overdose.
“It wasn’t a car crash that took his life,” Sean Cripe said. “It was an energy drink.”
Davis Cripe’s heart stopped. He was 16 years old.
The Richland County coroner says he drank a 20-ounce Diet Mountain Dew, a medium McDonald’s latte and a 16-ounce energy drink, all in a two-hour span.
Davis’s father Sean says he wants kids to stay away from energy drinks.
“There’s no reason to consume them,” he said in a 2017 press conference after his son’s death. “They can be very dangerous.”
A bill in the state house would ban anyone under 18 from buying a drink with a caffeine count of 80 milligrams per nine ounces. Energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster are over that limit.
By comparison, sodas like Coca-Cola and Pepsi have about a third of the caffeine in a 12-ounce can.
“When we talk about young people, a lot of times, they get something and it tastes good, makes them feel good and they just continue without realizing the effect that it has on them,” said Rep. Carl Anderson, D-Georgetown, a sponsor of the bill.
The FDA says adults can safely have the amount of caffeine in about four cups of coffee.
“You reach 400 milligrams or more, you can reach the negative impacts of caffeine,” said Dr. Ahmad Boota, in the Bon Secours St. Francis Health System in Greenville.
The bill’s sponsors say they want to stop kids from having health problems or dying like Davis Cripe.
“Even if they did not die, they have had arrhythmia and they have suffered because of this drink,” said Rep. Pat Henegan, D-Bennettsville.
Selling an energy drink to someone under 18 would be a $50 fine and enforcement would be similar to underage alcohol or cigarette sales.
The bill won’t make it out of the South Carolina house this year, but the local sponsors we spoke to say they want it voted on early next year.
