Corona, CA – January 17, 2013 — The recent report from the Drug AbuseWarning Network (DAWN) on so-called energy drink-related emergency department visits contains a highly misleading comparison of the caffeine content in energy drinks to a 5-ounce cup of coffee.
Here are the facts:
The leading brands of coffeehouse-brewed coffee typically serve a small coffee in a 12-ounce cup, a medium coffee in a 16-ounce cup and a large coffee in 20-ounce cup. Coffeehouse-brewed coffee typically contains more than 20 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per ounce, so a 12 ounce cup would contain at least 240 mg of caffeine and a 16-ounce cup would contain at least 320 mg of caffeine.
Monster energy products generally contain approximately 10 mg of caffeine per ounce from all sources. (This is about the same caffeine level as in the leading brands, which include Monster Energy, Red Bull and ROCKSTAR, accounting for more than 80% of the market.)
Therefore, a 16-ounce can of Monster Energy contains roughly half the caffeine of a 16-ounce cup of coffeehouse-brewed coffee, and our products are at least as safe for consumers as a cup of coffee purchased at your favorite coffee house.
The misleading coffee comparison provided by DAWN led to widespread inaccurate media reports that said 3 cans of energy drink contain as much caffeine as 15 cups of coffee.
In fact, the basic 16-ounce medium coffee sold at the leading coffee houses generally contains more than 320 mg of caffeine, which means that 3 cans of Monster Energy drinks contain substantially less caffeine than 2 of these coffeehouse servings, not the other way around. Or put another way, 15 cups of coffee contain more caffeine than 30 cans of the leading energy drinks, not 3.
In our opinion, DAWN’s dissemination of such misleading information was irresponsible and a disservice to the public that DAWN was created to serve.