This month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to the FDA to investigate Logan Paul’s Prime energy drink for its high levels of caffeine and marketing toward minors.
Popular YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI founded the Prime drinks brand in early 2022. Their first product was Prime Hydration — a sports drink designed to replace electrolytes, similar to Gatorade. The company has since branched out into selling energy drinks, sparking controversy for its 200 milligrams caffeine content.
In a letter to the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf, Schumer called Prime “a cauldron of caffeine” and recommended the drink be investigated for its marketing campaign centered toward children.
Kaden Franklin, a data science major at BYU, said he believes it could be in Paul’s character to profit off of children.
“Paul had been a part of so many controversies in the past, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t care about the health of his younger viewers,” Franklin said.
Schumer argues the Hydration bottle, which contains no caffeine, is “near-identical” to the energy drink can.
“Kids are likely to ingest cans of this stuff with parents unaware — and that’s a recipe for disaster,” Schumer said.
Schumer believes teenagers are the prime targets of the influencer-focused marketing, according to his letter.
“Prime is so new that most parents haven’t a clue about it, but it is born from the reels of social media and the enigmatic world of influencers,” Schumer said in the letter.
The letter argues much of the advertisements occur on TikTok and feature children. It also asserts teenagers are the largest consumers of the product, and it has become a status symbol among youth.
The letter warns caffeine can disrupt children’s sleep, affect their mood and give them headaches. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,499 minors went to the emergency room for energy drink related reasons in 2011.
Both the Prime website and the drink cans state the product is not recommended for minors.
Provo resident Noah Arntsen has followed Logan Paul’s career for years. Arntsen believes Paul should make an effort to dissuade youth from purchasing his product because he has such a large, impressionable audience.
“Logan Paul is highly influential among younger kids, so his product would naturally be bought by them merely from their infatuation with him. Whenever he mentions it in his videos, he should warn his younger audience members of the effects,” Arntsen said.
Arntsen also believes much of the responsibility falls on parents.
“Parents and guardians should be the ones to watch out for their kids, especially in these cases,” Arntsen said.
Franklin thinks parents should be more involved in their children’s diets.
“Do I like Logan Paul? Not really. However, I think in the context of Prime, parents need to be more aware of what their kids drink, rather than blame the businessman,” Franklin said.
The FDA begun an investigation, according to AP News.
