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Safety Becomes a Concern With High-Caffeine Drinks

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Safety Becomes a Concern With High-Caffeine Drinks. Among the latest entrants in the energy industry’s caffeine race is a pocket-size squeeze bottle called Mio Energy.

Safety Becomes a Concern With High-Caffeine Drinks
Safety Becomes a Concern With High-Caffeine Drinks

Each half-teaspoon serving of Mio, which is sold by Kraft Foods, releases 60 milligrams of caffeine in a beverage, the amount in a six-ounce cup of coffee, the company says. But one size of the bottle, which users can repeatedly squeeze, contains 18 servings, or 1,060 milligrams, of caffeine — more than enough, health specialists say, to sicken children and some adults, and even send some of them to the hospital.

Several countries are reining in sales of energy drinks, pointing to the risks of excessive caffeine consumption by teenagers and even some adults. By year’s end, Canada will cap caffeine levels in products like Monster Energy, Red Bull and Rockstar. Also countries like Mexico, France and India have or are considering steps including taxing the drinks more heavily to discourage their use.

As consumption of energy drinks soars in the United States, some members of Congress have called for a review of the industry, and the New York State attorney general is investigating the practices of several producers. However, critics say the Food and Drug Administration has allowed the drinks to languish in a regulatory gray area and does not require companies to disclose how much caffeine their products contain.

“Their approach has been laissez-faire,” said Dr. Bruce A. Goldberger, a toxicologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, who has been an industry critic. “The question is, what is it going to take to cause them to take action?”

F.D.A. officials say they lack sufficient evidence to act on caffeine levels in energy drinks, but continue to study the issue. Also, producers can market an energy drink as either a beverage or a dietary supplement, differing regulatory categories with different labeling and ingredient rules.

“We don’t have energy drinks defined by any regulation,” said Daniel Fabricant, the director of the F.D.A.’s dietary supplement division. “It is a marketing term.”

Agency officials, however, may soon face more pressure to regulate the products after the disclosure Monday that the agency had received reports of five deaths since 2009 that could be linked to Monster Energy, a top-seller. The drink’s manufacturer, Monster Beverage, disputed any suggestion that its products are unsafe.

The fatalities are also raising broader questions about whether companies monitor reports of deaths and serious injuries that may be tied to their products. A spokeswoman for Monster Beverage said Monday that the company was unaware of four of the five deaths reported to the F.D.A., even though such incident reports were part of an agency database.

The mother of a 14-year-old Maryland girl who died last December from a heart arrhythmia after drinking two large cans of Monster Energy in 24 hours obtained the records by requesting them under the Freedom of Information Act. Last week, she filed a lawsuit against Monster Beverage, a publicly traded company based in Corona, Calif., seeking unspecified damages.

Under the new Canadian rules, the big, 24-ounce size of Monster Energy that the Maryland teenager, Anais Fournier, drank will be banned because it contains 240 milligrams of caffeine, 60 milligrams more than the limit set by the new standards. Companies there will also track the types of consumers using their products and compile data about any health problems linked to them.

In the United States, a report last year by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that the annual number of emergency room visits in this country linked to energy drinks rose to over 12,000 in 2009, the latest year for which data is available. The figure represents a tenfold jump from the number of such visits reported in 2005.

The caffeine used in the beverages, which are also high in sugar, can come from a variety of sources, like synthetic caffeine, the guarana plant and tea extracts. Producers can mask the caffeine levels by including it among other ingredients as part of a drink’s “energy blend.”

The issue of how, or whether, to restrict levels of caffeine in energy drinks sold here is being raised as a seismic shift is occurring in beverage consumption. In some stores, sales of energy drinks now outpace those of sodas.

 Even industry critics acknowledge that the boom represents a triumph of sleek packaging and promotion that centers on advertising the drinks to young people with appealing images and claims. While many 16-ounce energy drinks sell for $2.99 a can, over-the-counter drugs like NoDoz that contain about the same amount of caffeine cost about 30 cents a tablet.

On a company Web site promoting Mio Energy, Kraft says that the black cherry flavor of the additive is “so wild it could get you arrested on a plane, but it’s worth the lawyer fees.” The bottle’s label notes on the side that it is “not for children,” a category that the beverage industry usually defines as those under 12.

Medical specialists say that healthy adults can safely consume 400 milligrams or more of caffeine daily. The drug, which acts as a stimulant, also provides benefits, like increased alertness.

Far less is known, however, about the impact of high caffeine use on teenagers, and specialists say the drug can pose dangers to those with undiagnosed health conditions like heart problems.

Roland Griffiths, a caffeine specialist at Johns Hopkins University and an industry critic, said that high caffeine use by young people can cause a cycle of rushes and crashes that can add “a degree of variance to their moods and psychological well-being that they don’t really need.”

Officials in Canada said they decided to take a uniform regulatory approach to energy drinks since they are sold alongside beverages. “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it ought to be regulated like a duck,” said Anatole Papadopoulos, an official of Health Canada, that country’s counterpart to the F.D.A.

The new Canadian rules do not affect small energy “shots” like 5-hour Energy, a top-selling brand. But the rules cap the level of caffeine in cans of energy drinks at 180 milligrams. Along with the 24-ounce can of Monster Energy, other products like the 20-ounce Red Bull, popular in the United States, would run afoul of the rules.

The Canadian action is a step back from the recommendations of a scientific panel there, which urged that, among other things, energy drinks be labeled “stimulant drug containing drinks.” Still, the move may also create a public relations conundrum for the industry.

While the Canadian Beverage Association, which represents energy drink makers like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, has endorsed the new rules there, , a sister trade group here, the American Beverage Association, that represents many of the same companies, said through a spokeswoman it will fight caffeine caps in this country.

Wendy Crossland, the mother of the 14-year-old girl who died in Maryland, said that the F.D.A. needs to require energy drink producers to disclose how much caffeine the beverages contain.

In Canada, the death in 2008 of Brian Shepard, 15, of an irregular heartbeat after drinking a can of Red Bull, helped spur calls for regulations. His father, James Shepard, said he could not believe that nothing was being done in America.

“In the States, the amount of caffeine in some of those cans is huge, and you are drawing kids to it,” said Mr. Shepard, an automobile mechanic in Toronto. “It is disgusting.”

Source:  The New York Times

AT&T Announces Samsung Galaxy Note II Available Nov. 9, Pre-orders Begin Oct. 25

Beginning Nov. 9 customers interested in picking up a Samsung Galaxy Note® II will be able to purchase one for $299.99 with a two-year agreement in all AT&T* stores and online.  Online pre-orders for this highly anticipated device are planned for Oct. 25 at www.att.com/galaxynoteii.

Samsung Galaxy Note II Available Nov. 9, Pre-orders Begin Oct. 25
Samsung Galaxy Note II Available Nov. 9, Pre-orders Begin Oct. 25

Announced last month, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is one of the first smartphones launching at AT&T to feature a quad-core processor.  Galaxy Note II uses a 1.6 GHz quad-core Exynos™ processor with powerful graphics capabilities.  The Galaxy Note II is thinner and narrower than the first Galaxy Note, and it improves upon the original with longer battery life, as well as enhancements to the S Pen™.  AT&T is the only carrier to offer the original Samsung Galaxy Note™ at $199.99 with a two-year agreement.

The Galaxy Note II will run on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. It will ship running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) on its beautiful 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED™ display, perfect for customers who want the productivity of a tablet with the portability of a smartphone.  The 8-megapixel camera allows users to easily share their photos with friends through Share Shot, while S Beam™ lets you quickly share videos, pictures, maps and more with other Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S® III devices.

AT&T customers have access to the nation’s largest 4G network**, covering 275 million people. AT&T has two 4G networks that work together for customers, LTE and HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. That means AT&T customers are able to enjoy a widespread, ultra-fast and consistent 4G experience on their compatible device as they move in and out of LTE areas. With other carriers, when you travel outside of their LTE coverage area, you may be on a much slower 3G network.

Soruce: TechreleasedSamsung Galaxy Note II Available Nov. 9

Cooler Master Introducing iPhone 5 ALUMINUM BUMPER

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Taipei, Taiwan  (Techreleased) – Cooler Master, an award winning designer and manufacturer of thermal and protective solutions for computers and mobile devices today introduces the Aluminum Bumper iPhone 5 cover.

Cooler Master Introducing iPhone 5 ALUMINUM BUMPER
Cooler Master Introducing iPhone 5 ALUMINUM BUMPER
A Fine Phone Requires A Fine Cover
The iPhone 5 has all the caliber of a finely crafted watch. This device requires a cover that’s just as sophisticated. Enter the Aluminum bumper.
Light and Durable Aircraft Grade Aluminum
What makes the Aluminum bumper unique is the material it’s been made with. Starting with aircraft grade aluminum, we machine, polish, and texture the surfaces of the bumper. This gives the Aluminum Bumper a near mirror finish.
Aircraft grade aluminum is light and tough. The aluminum bumper will shield your iPhone 5 from dents, chips and scuffs.
Highly Precise Manufacturing Process Let’s Your iPhone Reach Full Strength
A crystalline diamond is used to make precise cut outs in the bumper. This gives you full access to all your iPhone 5′s buttons and clears the way for the antenna to transmit it’s full strength.
This sophisticated manufacturing process extends to how the pieces fit together. The bumper has a seamless slide-n-lock design that makes taking it on or off easy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unveiling a memorial in Berlin to Roma victims

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unveiling a memorial in Berlin to Roma (Gypsy) Nazi Holocaust victims.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unveiling a memorial in Berlin to Roma victims
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is unveiling a memorial in Berlin to Roma victims

The memorial – a circular pool of water with a small plinth in the middle – is in the Tiergarten park, near the Reichstag, the German parliament building.

The unveiling comes after years of delays and disputes over the memorial’s design and its cost.

Experts say between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma were killed during World War II.

“It’s very important to me that we have a culture of remembrance,” Mrs Merkel said in an interview on her YouTube channel.

“Every generation must confront its own history afresh. And for that we must have suitable places that people can go to in the future, when the witnesses from the time are no longer alive.”

Mrs Merkel acknowledged that the building of the memorial had taken a long time and entailed “many discussions”, and recalled that the memorial to murdered Jews of Europe had also taken more than 15 years to complete.

President Joachim Gauck and some 100 elderly survivors joined Mrs Merkel at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

The memorial has been designed by the Israeli artist Dani Karavan. A fresh flower will be laid on the plinth at the centre of the memorial every day.

Between 220,000 and 500,000 Roma were killed during World War II “Auschwitz” by Italian poet Santino Spinelli is engraved around the pool’s rim.

A chronology of the Nazi extermination campaign stands next to the memorial.

In 1982, Germany officially recognised the genocide of the Roma and Sinti – a related people who live mostly in German-speaking areas of Central Europe.

The leader of the Central Council of Sinti and Roma in Germany, Romani Rose, was also at the ceremony.

He told Agence France-Presse earlier: “Opening the memorial sends an important message to society that anti-Roma sentiment is as unacceptable as anti-Semitism.”

However, Roma organisations and human rights groups say they are still discriminated against in many European countries.

German newspapers on Wednesday pointed out that Germany turns down asylum applications from Roma from Kosovo, and some accused Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich of unacceptable discrimination when he referred recently to “increasing abuse of asylum from countries in the Balkans”.

A front-page commentary by Klaus Hillenbrand in Die Tageszeitung said: “It is, of course, nevertheless right for the chancellor and the president to turn the inauguration of the modest memorial into an act of state… Better decades too late than never.”

However, in Berlin’s Der Tagesspiegel, Gerrit Bartels says that, although the memorial “finally recognises the Nazi genocide of Europe’s Sinti and Roma… it certainly does not show future generations of Sinti and Roma a way out of the dilemma between exclusion, separation and assimilation”.

Source:  BBC