Spike Shooter Pulled From 7-Eleven Stores
Biotest must be enjoying all this publicity.
CBS news have done another story on the Spike Shooter energy drink. One school has already banned the drink, and other schools in the area are sending letters home to parents.
However there are some curious things about the story.
7-Eleven were handing out free samples of Spike Shooter to high school students. That strikes me as being a little irresponsible. Who was doing the handing out - was it Biotest or 7-Eleven? Does it make sense to you to hand out a product to high school kids that specifically says “not for under 18s”?
One guy featured in the story was sent to the emergency room and diagnosed with a “caffeine overdose”. We know that Spike Shooter has 300mg of caffeine. That seems a little low for an overdose - given that you could get the same amount of caffeine out of a Starbucks Grande brewed coffee.
So - the problem could be:
(1) The synergistic effect of the N-Acetyl-L-tyrosine and Yohimbe Hcl.
(2) The unfortunate guy in the story was quite caffeine-sensitive and/or had low-tolerance and/or had not eaten anything for a while.
(3) He had already consumed caffeine prior to this.
His symptoms were quite serious - increased blood pressure, heart rate. He claimed he was “going blue” and shaking.
I don’t believe in blanket bans of products simply because people don’t take warnings seriously. However - if some of these diet supplement companies are going to push their drinks into the teen demographic (either overtly or by subtle branding tactics) — then we are going to have a problem.
26 Comments
Do a lot more research plze. What’s starting to come to the front of all of this publicity is that people are slamming multiple cans of Spike at one time. I live in Colorado Springs and can attest that the overwhelming vast majority of people enjoy Spike. Its too bad that a few idiots who don’t take the warnings serioiusly are making everyone else suffer
Man, they pull this from 7-11 before I get a chance to try it. I consume about 3500 mg of caffeine per day, I wanted to try this thing! It’s crap that people can’t have some personal responsibility
Is there another retailer, perhaps GNC, that still sells the Spike shooter, or is it exclusively available through the Biotest website now?
I saw cans of Spike on the shelves of a GNC in Houston therefore I assume it is available elsewhere. I didn’t know it had 300mg of caffeine . . . nice!
I’m not surprised it was pulled from several schools and 7-11. It seems unilaterally irresponsible for a corporation to pander to a market clearly out of tune with what is safe for consumption. Furthermore, yohimbe is an untested supplement known to create aberrations in certain individuals.
Sure, there is a warning clearly plastered on the side, but how many potential customers will actually heed the label? Isn’t the point of energy drinks and other products of that ilk to indulge hedonistically, health-be-damned? Makes me wonder what will happen if Modafinil ever becomes liquified.
For anyone who hasn’t read up on Modafinil, it is basically a legal meth. It can (and will) keep you up for days, supposedly without the inconvenient side-effects of pesky controlled substances like cocaine and methamphetamines.
For a very enlightening article about the future of commercialized energy, check this link out @ New Scientist:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg18925391.300
these high schoolers must have taken an overdose because the can specificly says 1 can a day. i am 14 years old and i have consumed alread 3 cand in 3 different days so far other than an energy rush i am fine. the rush lasts for about maybe 3-5 hours.
I think the FDA needs to get involved in these types of products. Why are companies allowed to make products and make big claims about them? These products are just like what the old-time huksters used to go around selling. Who is looking out for the consumer. It wasn’t just one high schooler that had an adverse reaction, there were several students involved. One of them had to be wheeled out of school in a wheelchair.
It’s funny how people go “Energy drinks are bad for your health because of the high amount of caffeine” and those saying that would most likely be drinking a regular coffee with the same or if not more caffeine.
Like I said before, to get an overdose from an energy drink is extremely hard UNLESS you are either caffeine sensitive or pregnant due to the fact that you wouldn’t even be able to hold half of the required caffeine for a LD-50(50% chance of a lethal dose) due to your stomach size.
In a nutshell, if you ban under 18yr olds to drink energy drinks, you might as well ban coffee to them too, but ultimately it’s up to the parents to warn their children of the possible side effects of caffeine at a young age, then complaining to the media and FDA about it.
Well I have tested the spike drink and I like it. It is sad that people don’t read the information on products before drinking the stuff.. I know of one store that still sales the product and that’s jays conv store in colorado springs
Ive had the spike shooter before and i love it! the first time i drank the whole can and got a caffeine rush but after that the side effects are minimal (besides having more energy). Someone said they have 3500mg of caffeine a day, sorry but you would be dead. An average weighted person’s heart and kidneys simply cannot handle that much.
I had spike shooter… not bad, but not awesome. Strong taste of fake sugar, which I cannot stand. The taste is alright, not annoying like some energy drinks.
Chris: I do consume large amounts of caffeine up to that point. I have consumed large amounts of caffeine all of my life, and it simply has almost no affect on me now (other than when I stop consuming it).
Spike shooter is only 300mg of caffeine, that’s a joke, it’s just a large cup of coffee’s worth (of the good stuff).
damnit and I forgot to mention, it is 2500, not 3500, I had misposted first
I drink Spike Shooter not only to keep me going at work (I speed walk from 4pm-Midnight)butalso when im working my body extra hard, I drink one with a meal or right before im about to go rock climbing or working out. It DOES help ALOT and to me I have noticed and the other 5 people that I have had try this have also said they have not noticed any “crash” or come down from the energy drink. If there was one energy drink i’d recommend it WOULD be this drink!
‘DewKnight March 12th, 2007 2:40 am
I had spike shooter… not bad, but not awesome. Strong taste of fake sugar, which I cannot stand.’
I would rather have that fake sugar taste then the nice cool burn of some energy drinks as they go down :p
Buah: That’s why you just stay on caffeine 24/7, no crash
dude. i dont really care how stupid people are. its not my fault if they dont pay attention to what theyre drinking. but i wanted some spike and they pulled it before i got the chance. seriously i cant stand what idiots like that ruin for the rest of us
You can still find it at some 7/11’s and GNC
its 16 and under not 18 and under get your facts right
Spike really isn’t that hard to find if you actually look. I usually get it from liquor stores. Conoco gas station still sells it too.
You know, some people just don’t have a life so they have to complain. I like this stuff. When you have to work then go to school at night, this really helps. Now personally I have ONE (1) a day plus what ever is in a liter cola. I probably less then 800 mg of caffeine in a day. I agree with what some people have said. Why not ban coffee then? What about alcohol? Don’t some people go driving after they drink.. get DUIs? Pulling Spike because some high schoolers stupidity is just plain stupid! Some people just need to stop moaning and start listening… not that it will ever happen.
BTY Chris, actually Spike does need to correct the age. The can says 16, but the site says 18.
IMO, some people just need to STFU and use common since……
http://www.t-nation.com/portal_includes/suppLabels/spikeShooterFacts.html
(Got this page from spikeshooter.com)
THIS STUFF IS LIKE LEGAL CRACK. ITS AWESOME, AND WORKS VERY WELL FOR THE DAY OR YOUR WORK OUT. I KNOW THAT SOME MAX MUSCLE’S SELL THEM ALSO
>chris March 31st, 2007 5:24 pm
>its 16 and under not 18 and under get your facts right
I work at 7-11. The single cans are 16+ but the multi packs are 18+ (read the box sometime).
The 7-11 I work at only sells Spike to 18+. They didn’t say why but my guess is fear of being sued. If a teenager overdoses on spike (it’s not the caffeine, it’s the 25000% DV of Vitamin B12) we could be sued for selling a dangerous product to a minor (they can’t legally make an informed decision). An adult can make an informed decision so if they drink too much, it’s their fault.
Hmm thats sounds like bullshit to me. I’m 14, wiegh 93 lbs and can drink a 22 oz bottle of nos (343 mg of caffeine) and not die. Note I will have an extreme energy rush and will be hyper for 3-5 hours. I’ve drank 2 sobe no fears (348 mg of caffeine) and I did feel a little funny (my chest was pounding, ect) but stil no e.r.
I work at a gym in north carolina called peak fitness. They have tons of spikes in the cooler. Im 16 and i drink these a lot. The warning on the back is just to protect spike from getting sued if some stupid kid that cant handle caffeine goes and drinks 5 of these. 300mgs of caffeine is not really that much anyways.
hey, bottom line it costs me less to buy one spike than 4 red bulls. this product is a life-saver and money saver for anyone who puts in long hours at work or school. if you can’t read warning labels, or you just dont care that is your problem.
By reading many of these posts I can tell there are several fans of this drink but from my personal experience I honestly felt like my heart was going to thump out of my chest. I felt so bad I was shaking, felt uncomfortable and absolutely sick to my stomach. Most of this more than likely had to do with the fact that i hadn’t eatin in several hours aprox. 5hrs if I were to guess. Now don’t get me wrong I LOVE energy drinks like many of you have said I wouldn’t know what to do with myself though out the day without it I’ve often drank several cans of other companies energy drinks in a day often in immediate succession of one another with no problem my “drug of choice” being either the classic redbull and my new fav being amp energy. So I thought nothing of simply drinking an 8 oz can of spike but that had more kick than a 4 pack of redbull which I could consume with no problem. However considering my self an energy drink pro I completely ignored the recommendation of drinking half first then the rest if needed a mistake I feel many people are capable of. But I suppose consumed in proper doses it can be a virtue however I know I will stick to the tried and true and amp or redbull for now.
Well I know for a fact that Yohimbe can give you very scary side effects when to have certain foods.