Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), in his capacity as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent an open letter to the FTC on Friday asking the agency to investigate the advertising claims of popular energy drinks and energy shots, one of which, 5-Hour Energy, has reportedly been linked to the deaths of 13 people over the past four years. But Markey wants the FTC to look into Monster Energy and Rockstar Energy, too (notably absent from his list is Red Bull). As Markey said in a statement on his website Friday:
“Until we know more about the health impacts of these so-called energy drinks, it is inappropriate and may very well be dangerous to advertise them to children and teens.”
