On the Air, Blumenthal Continues Energy Drink Battle

CNN anchor Jake Tapper, with eyebrows angled, expressed a visage of concern last week when discussing energy drinks with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

You know what that means: we’ve got ourselves some news.

After Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) received a tweet with an image of a toy boat draped in branding from Rockstar Energy, Tapper aired Blumenthal on his news show to chat about youth marketing and energy drinks, a rather familiar subject by now.

“Rockstar plainly is using a toy and a ploy to pitch their products to children,” Blumenthal said in the video. “That’s very troubling because these products can be dangerous for children because of the high levels of caffeine.”

While researchers have questioned the meaning of emergency room visits connected to energy drinks, Blumenthal still noted that the number of visits have recently skyrocketed. Along with Durbin and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Blumenthal has been asking for more descriptive labeling about the dangers of caffeine for young people and greater restrictions for the purchasing of the products. They also want energy drink companies to stop all marketing pitches using toys, social media, celebrities and athletes.

“These companies are circumventing parents by using social media,” he said in the video.

Those interested in watching the video all the way to the end will be rewarded to find that Blumenthal doesn’t believe energy drinks are as unhealthy as tobacco products.