Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate Prime, a popular influencer-backed energy drink, for its high caffeine content and its social media marketing campaign apparently directed at children.
“One of the summer’s hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit. It’s not a toy. It’s a beverage. But buyer and parents beware, because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets,” Schumer said at a press conference on Sunday.
“And the problem here is the product has so much caffeine in it that it puts Red Bull to shame. But, unlike Red Bull, it is specifically targeted, the advertising campaign, is targeted at kids under 18,” he added.
Prime, founded by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, contains 200 mg of caffeine per 12 ounces, about the same as two cans of Red Bull. The brand also sells a hydration beverage that does not contain caffeine.
Prime gained instant popularity when it launched last year and produced long lines at grocery stores, the Associated Press reported. The product also caused “reports of school yard resale markets,” according to the AP, which noted that some schools in the United Kingdom and Australia banned the energy beverage, citing health concerns.
The FDA and Prime did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Schumer said his letter to the FDA called for an investigation into Prime for “number one, its claims; number two, its marketing aimed at kids; and number three, its eye-popping caffeine content.”
While Prime’s website indicates that the energy drink “is not recommended for children under the age of 18, women who are pregnant or nursing, or individuals who are sensitive to caffeine,” some physicians have still expressed concern that the warning is not preventing children from consuming it.
“We as physicians are very concerned. These strengths and the amount of caffeine in these strengths, can give children and teens headaches. It can give them jitters, nervousness. It can interfere with the sleep cycle, which is so important to the developing brain,” New York pediatrician Edith Bracho Sanchez said at the news conference on Sunday.
“And we also know, again, common-sense science, we’ve seen it happen before, that when these products are marketed and advertised in this flashy cool way through influencers and celebrities, the first audience that is listening, that is ready to purchase in whatever way they can purchase are kids,” Sanchez added.
–Updated at 9:54 a.m.
