Another media beat-up? You decide.

The headline screams:

Red Bull linked to deaths

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(Article here.)
The first paragraph exclaims:

It's a favourite of shiftworkers, sportsmen, partygoers and the hungover - but the top-selling energy drink Red Bull is under investigation over fears it may be linked to three deaths in Sweden.

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But the quote from the Swedish National Food Authority is:

"What we have is the suggestion that three people have died after drinking this substance, although there is no hard scientific evidence available as yet. We will be looking at the death certificates and going through the autopsy reports to identify whether or not there is a link," Swedish National Food Administration spokesman Anders Glyn said.

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Are the newspapers not being a tad premature with their demonisation of Red Bull?
Could it be that the dehydration and body temperature rise resulting from massive caffeine ingestion caused these deaths?
Will Red Bull be made "pharmacy only medicine" (ie. OTC only) in Australia as it already has been in Norway, Denmark and France due to the caffeine content?
Do we need warning labels on every single product available for consumers, so that people are absolved of the responsibility of exercising common sense?
I thought some of you may find this interesting.
BigTrancer
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Load universe into cannon. Aim at brain. Shoot.
[This message has been edited by BigTrancer (edited 13 July 2001).]

A media beat-up? well...
Red-bull in specific has been raised by the media previous to this and its known pretty widely that because of its taurine and caffiene contents its been under scrutiny by certain pressure-groups..
A good opportunity for the age to head down the same path and further support their irrational and sensational views? I think so.
These articles are all written the same way. Its so obvious. They blame red-bull for the deaths and provide sweeping statements, as well as unsupported examples. But, you always see at the end of the article, the true factual information comes out. Is this a way of manipulating the reader? I think so, because by the time you get to the end, your mind is made up. THE DRINK MUST BE EVIL!
Even though there is no scientific evidence to say that red-bull was the cause, the reader is still led to believe it was because of the drink. Has the article achieved its purpose? Yes.

would be interesting to know if theres anything redbull could do about the article, mainly the headline..
would be funny to see a front page retraction.. similar to what target apparently have to do with their 'misleading adverts'.. it was decided since the adverts were played during prime time tv, the retractions must as well.

Well people, I think we've all learnt our lesson here.
Whats the sensible thing to do if you want energy?
Snort speed!

Personally, I have always held the opinion that these things hip drinks are just placebos in a can. I checked the caffine content of a V, and found it to be 80mg per serving. To put this into perspective, a cup of freshly ground coffee clocks in at around 100-150mg per serving, and A no-doz pill contains 100mg. By this comparison, these energy drinks contain less pep than one would think. At their price, I think these things are the greatest marketing beatup of recent times...
However, I have once before suffered an overdose of caffine (far to many no-doz), and it ranks as the worst drug experience I have encountered ever. The sensation is one of complete and total panic and anxiety for about 24 hours combined with heart palpitations. Not plesant. However, when factoring the dose I took into a similar ammount V, it would require about 40-50 cans within a narrow period. Who has the money or lack of brains to want to try that?
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The woods are dark and deep, and you have miles to go before you sleep...