January 23, 2013
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Page 15
Health Is
Patients seek
treatment as
consumption rises
(AP) - A new government report shows
the number of people seeking emergency
treatment after consuming energy drinks has
doubled nationwide over the last four years,
the same period in which the supercharged
industry has surged in popularity in conve­
nience stores, bars and on college campuses.
"Five years ago, perhaps I would see
one or two cases every three m onths or so.
Now we're consistently seeing about two
cases per m onth," said Dr. Steve Sun,
assistant m edical director o f the em er­
gency departm ent at St. M ary's M edical
Center, on the edge of San Francisco's
Golden Gate Park.
From 2007 to 2011, the government esti­
mates the number of emergency room visits
involving energy drink beverages shot up
from about 10,000to more than 20,000. Most
of the cases involved teens or young adults,
according to the survey of the nation's hos­
pitals released late last week by the Sub­
stance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.
M ore than half o f the patients consid­
ered in the survey told doctors they had
consum ed only energy drinks. In 2011,
about 42 percent o f the cases involved
energy drinks in com bination with alcohol
or drugs, such as the stim ulants A dderall
wUn IOOkS ° Ver a heart monitor display in the emer& n cy room at St. Mary's Medical Center in San F r ^ i ^
caused d y t d T d Z } ^
or Ritalin.
The beverage industry says energy
drinks are safe and there is no proof link­
ing the products to adverse reactions.
The report doesn't specify which sym p­
tom s brought people to the em ergency
room , but it calls energy drink consum p­
tion a "rising public health problem " that
can cause insom nia, nervousness, head­
ache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are
severe enough to require em ergency care.
Several em ergency physicians said they
Jeans Bring Voice to Teens
Teens and young adults get a
chance to talk about issues affect­
ing them on Saturday, Jan. 26 at a
summit sponsored by Vancouver’s
African Methodist Episcopal Zion
Church.
The convocation-style event,
from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30p.m. at the Clark
05^7
Public Utilities Building, 1200 Fort
Vancouver Way, will tackle issues
like mental health, anger manage­
ment and the importance of integ­
rity. Participants are asked to bring
a pair of gently used or new jeans
and toiletries that will be donated to
local homeless shelters.
é^ôwng' QÄfemorp
Joree Jackson
Joree Jackson peacefully passed
awayonJan. 12,2013 at his home in
Portland at the age of 74.
He will be remembered for his
gregariousness, kindness and warm
and generous heart.
He was bom on Aug. 18,1938 in
Shreveport, La., to Laura and Joe
Jackson. He moved to Portland when
he w as a tee n ag e r, atten d in g
R oosevelt High School before
graduating from Jefferson High
School. He went on to receive an
associate’s degree from Portland
Community College in computer
technology and studied music at
Mt. Hood Community College.
Joree worked at Tri Met, first as a
31
bus driver and later as a fare inspec­
tor before retiring 15 years ago after
22 years of service.
His unexpected passing leaves
a large whole in the hearts of many.
He will be rem embered by his chil­
dren Joree E. Jackson, Steve Jack-
son, A licia Jackson, and A lthea
Sherm an; a sister V iolee Jackson,
and a host of nieces, nephew s,
and cousins, extended fam ily and
friends.
A life celebration service is
scheduled for Friday, Jan. 25, at 11
a.m. at the Oregon Association of
Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME),
4134N. Vancouver Ave. Visitation
is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan.
24 at Ross Hollywood Chapel, 4733
N.E. Thompson St.
Seek traatmeat f° '
had seen a clear uptick in the num ber o f
patients suffering from irregular heart­
beats, anxiety and heart attacks who said
they had recently dow ned an energy drink.
"A lot of people don't realize the strength
of these things. I had someone come in
recently who had drunk three energy drinks
in an hour, which is the equivalent o f 15 cups
of coffee," said Howard Mell, an emergency
physician in the suburbs o f Cleveland. "Es­
sentially he gave himself a stress test and
thankfully he passed. But if he had a weak
T erry F amily
F uneral
H ome
heart or suffered from coronary disease and
didn't know it, this could have precipitated
very bad things."
The findings came as concerns over en­
ergy drinks have intensified following re­
ports last fall o f 18 deaths possibly tied to the
drinks and so-called energy shots— includ­
ing a 14-year-old Maryland girl whose family
filed a lawsuit after she drank two large cans
of Monster Energy drinks and died. Monster
says its products were not responsible for
the death.
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