Riley said it is up to the city of Boston to police where student ambassadors conduct their job, not the university. Student ambassadors at local college campuses declined to be interviewed by the Globe on the record, saying that Red Bull does not allow them to speak with reporters and that they did not want to risk being fired.Ĭolin Riley, the executive director of media relations at Boston University, said the university does not patrol student ambassadors or have a relationship with them, even when they are operating on the school’s private property. Red Bull, the only company that appears currently to operate college ambassador roles in Massachusetts, currently lists 236 student marketeer job openings across North America on its website, six of which are in Massachusetts: two openings at Boston University, and one each at Northeastern University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Suffolk University. Brands like Red Bull, Celsius, Monster, and Sway Energy Drinks host student ambassador programs for college students across the United States to market their products to younger generations. But on a smaller scale, Toce agreed that college ambassador programs simulate the same kind of influence. Much of that social media marketing is done through personalities like Logan Paul, a YouTube star with millions of followers, who cofounded PRIME energy. Nonetheless, teens may be influenced by social media personalities and ambassadors to buy the ultra-caffeinated energy drinks that are so “feverishly marketed to them,” in Schumer’s words. Many of the energy drinks on the market today have over 200 milligrams of caffeine, which equates to about a six-pack of Coke. Today, Four Loko no longer contains caffeine. Schumer was also outspoken back then, calling on the New York State Liquor Authority to ban the product. In 2010, an 18-year-old college student went into cardiac arrest after drinking Four Loko, a drink that was 12 percent alcohol and contained 156 milligrams of caffeine in a 23.5-ounce can. “They’ll be more prone to alcohol poisoning.” “I would certainly worry about the simulant effects of caffeine allowing students to consume more alcohol and be less aware of inebriating effects,” Toce said. The impact on college-age young adults can be negative, too, he said, especially if they end up mixing the caffeinated beverages with alcohol. Toce said adolescents who consume excessive amounts of caffeine can experience irritability, hyperactivity, concerning appetite suppression, and bad sleep hygiene. One-third of children ages 12 to 17 in the United States regularly consume energy drinks, according to the National Institutes of Health. “With anything that’s targeting underage kids, there needs to be heightened regulation because their body is still developing, their brain is still developing, and we don’t know what high volume therapeutic exposure to caffeine is going to do to children in the future,” Toce said. Michael Toce, associate pediatrics physician in the division of emergency medicine and medical toxicology at Boston Children’s Hospital. That type of direct marketing of energy drinks to teens should be limited, said Dr. She said she had never tried Red Bull until a marketeer dropped one off at her college dorm room during her freshman year when she was 18. “They’ve definitely been able to make their presence be top of mind for many students,” Knezevic said. Mia Knezevic, a rising sophomore at Boston University, said that Red Bull student marketeers are often distributing drinks in the university food courts and study areas on Marathon Monday in April, the marketeers placed cases of Red Bull around freshmen dorms. Related : The FDA is being asked to look into Logan Paul’s energy drink, which has the caffeine of 6 Coke cans
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