NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – Energy drinks are sold in convenience and grocery store coolers right next to soda, juice, water and milk. They come with cool names like Monster, Rockstar, and Red Bull.
But who should really be consuming these energy drinks? Especially since they've been accused of causing the deaths of several young people, including a teen from north Florida.
There's even a call now for stricter regulation by the government.
A recent study done by the journal Pediatrics shows teens make up 30 to 50 percent of the market and nearly half of the caffeine overdoses reported as of the year 2007.
Another recent study done by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows the number of emergency room visits associated with non-alcoholic energy drinks on the rise jumping from just over 11 hundred in 2005 to more than 13 thousand in 2009. That's an increase of more than 1,000 percent.
Cheryl James blames the energy drink Monster for the death of her 19-year-old son Drew in 2010.
"There's no doubt in my mind. Something caused that heart attack and it wasn't an underlying heart problem," said James.
And last December 14-year-old Anais Fournier of Maryland died after her parents say she drank two Monster drinks in less than 24 hours.
In both cases, officials wouldn't say it was definitely the drinks that killed the teens saying underlying or unknown heart problems could have been to blame.
But it's sparked concern about caffeine poisoning in teens and young adults.
One can or bottle of an energy drink can contain between 80 and 500 milligrams of caffeine. A 5 ounce cup of coffee has 100 milligrams. A 12 ounce can of coke has 50 milligrams.
For Fournier, who drank those two cans of Monster, she consumed the caffeine equivalent of 14 cans of soda.
The Food and Drug Administration places energy drinks under the same category as dietary supplements which are regulated differently than other caffeinated products like soda or chocolate.
The side of a Monster can says, "Limit 3 cans per day. Not recommended for children, pregnant women or people sensitive to caffeine."
Dr. Daniel Fabricant with the FDA says the government needs more research.
"For us to make a hard and fast scientific decision, we've got to be able to show there's an unreasonable risk of the ingredients under normal conditions of use," said Fabricant.
James wants to see age requirements for the drinks. She says while her son was 19 when he died, he'd been drinking energy drinks since his early teens.
"He thought, and I did too, and I know everybody else that walks in there and buys those things they think they're not going to hurt you. They don't realize that it's not FDA approved, like everything that sits beside it."
Monster Energy told us they couldn't comment for this story.
James has not filed suit with the maker's of Monster Energy.
James wants her local school district in Nassau County to ban energy drinks. Local 6 found no school districts in Central Florida that will allow energy drinks to be sold on campus.
Both Florida Hospital and Orlando Health emergency departments tell Local 6 they are definitely seeing an increase in visits related to energy drinks. Common complaints include heart palpitations, insomnia, and anxiety.