Father Wants Energy Drinks Banned After His Son Developed Addiction For Red Bull

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By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Mar 07, 11:42 pm

Photo: (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A concerned father is calling for a total ban on energy drinks in the U.K. after his son developed an addiction to it to cope with his emotional issues.

Keiron Bartholomew said that his son, Justin Bartholomew, drank as much as 15 cans of Red Bull and similar energy drinks a day. The 25-year-old was ingesting large amounts of the high-caffeinated drinks so he could function from a cycle of depression and sleepless nights borne by his divorce in 2015.

However, the father believes that Justin's overconsumption of Red Bull and the likes led to his psychological breakdown. In 2017, Justin could no longer deal with his depression and decided to end his life.

Energy Drinks Lead to Heart Palpitations

Keiron said his son struggled to recover from the split with his wife of three months. His father described him as a very sensitive person who needed to be handled by a Crisis Team one time so he would not try to take his life.

But while Justin was in therapy, he also started consuming more energy drinks and bought bags full of the cheaper varieties after work. These drinks led to his heart palpitations and zombie-like existence. One doctor even diagnosed him as someone with a heart of an 80-year-old person, per Fox News.

Keiron knew that his son needed help, but they could not "get through to him" because of his addiction to energy drinks. His dependency on it worsened his depression. Then one day, the father woke up to the worst day of his life as Justin committed suicide. Now, Keiron is advocating against the sale of energy drinks, which are also accessible to children and teenagers.

Mom Kayleigh Judge agreed with Keiron after her penchant for energy drinks led to her chronic high blood pressure diagnosis in her early 30s. She has also prohibited her teen boys from drinking Red Bull, Monster and Lucozade. The mom said she doesn't see any reason for these drinks to exist, and she wants the government to impose a total ban.

In 2020, BMJournal reported that a 21-year-old spent 58 days in the hospital after suffering from heart failure after drinking two liters of energy drink regularly for two years.

Energy Drinks Not Healthy, Especially for Kids

Reports cited that there are regulations in Europe that impose labels on energy drinks as "not recommended for children." Health experts and dieticians in the U.K. also agreed that regular consumption of this type of drink may lead to poor sleep, poor diet, high blood pressure, weight gain, diarrhea, stomach pains, headaches, and mental health issues.

When asked to comment on the matter, Red Bull referred to the findings of a study sponsored by Energy Drinks Europe that stated the general population of healthy individuals are not at any risk from consuming at least 400mg of energy drinks. One can, or bottle contains at least 160mg of caffeine, which is higher than the caffeine content of a double espresso, and 14 teaspoonsful of sugar.