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'Harmful' energy drinks flood northern region

Lax monitoring blamed

UNB, Pabna
Energy drinks laced with drugs that stimulate sex have flooded the market in the northern region, including Pabna district, posing serious health risks for the young generation.
Locals said the producers of these drinks were especially luring the youth, taking advantage of nonexistence of an effective law or strong monitoring system to curb the production, marketing and distribution of such soft drinks.
They demanded the authorities concerned take effective steps immediately to stop the production of these soft drinks, toxic beverages and juices and clear them off the market.
They alleged that a section of businessmen were manufacturing such harmful drinks under the brand names like "Ruchita Feelings”, "Hot Feelings", "Super Power Feelings", "Super Drinks", "Triple X", ’"Horse Power", "Horse Feelings", "Fast Horse" and "Power, Manpower" without obtaining valid documents or permission from the authorities concerned.
These illegal companies supply their products on credit to department stores, grocery shops, cigarette and betel leaf shops, and roadside makeshift shops to make them available to all.
Each bottle of the drinks or can contains instructions like "Mixed Fruit Drinks", "Only for Adults" and sells atTk 45-60.
Sources at the Narcotics Control Department (NCD) said narcotic ingredients had been found in the drinks under those brand names. The drinks were found to be containing "opiate" and "Sildenafil Citrate" in laboratory tests, they said.
“Opiate made from opium and Sildenafil Citrate is an aphrodisiac, which is listed as deadly narcotics,” a NCD chemist said.
Capt (retd) Sarwar Jahan Faiz, a noted physician of Pabna, said these drinks and beverages contained M Fitamin, toxic chemicals. “Regular intake of these beverages will lead to heart, lungs, lever and kidney failures.”
Shop owners at Bypass Intersection, Afria and Chadmari in Pabna town, preferring anonymity, said young people, including female, consumed these beverage and juice items. Addicted youths often crowd the shops to buy the soft drinks, they added.
KM Tanvir Anwar, company commander of Rab-12 (Pabna), said they have raided a fake soft drink-making factory in Afria area and seized 40,000 bottles of stimulant drinks and toxic beverage of different brands recently.
In another drive, Rab-12 sealed off Fast Food HBD Ltd, an unlicensed beverage and stimulant juice manufacturing plant at Chadmari Intersection, and fined its owner Tk 50,000.
Rab-12 also raided a warehouse of a soft drinkmanufacturing factory and seized 888 bottles of syrup and juice items of "Horse Feelings" brand and arrested one person from the spot on July 10.