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In an interesting editorial written by Poker Player Newspaper Publisher Stanley R. Sludikoff, the question is asked: Should energy drinks be banned from poker rooms?
Sludikoff suggests there is good reason to do so.
Energy drinks are principally caffeine and sugar. In moderate doses they are safe, however, Caffeine, like any drug, has an upper limit to its safety. Manufacturers neither limit nor disclose the amount of caffeine in these drinks. At high doses, caffeine plays havoc on your nervous system with nervous tremors, racing hearts and deteriorating cognition. In 2011, energy drinks sent 20,783 adults and children to hospital emergency rooms, a 37% increase over 2010.
Sludikoff, a 50-year United States Reserves Officer Member, notes that high ranking officials in the military have recommended energy drinks be removed from bases where they currently rank as the top selling cold beverage.
He notes that studies have shown soldiers who take sports supplements were more likely to seek medical care for irregular heartbeats. Twenty percent were unable to promptly return to duty and 10% required aeromedical evacuation.
If these drinks are causing such harm to military personnel, just imagine what they might be doing to poker players, Sludkoff suggests.
He adds:
To card rooms, think twice about your offering these products for sale as they could be harmful. In the long run you may make more money from having more live and healthy players in your rooms then the few cents you make on selling these beverages. If military bases stop selling these beverages...why are you selling them?
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
