As of Jan. 13 the cafe chain, Panera Bread, faces three lawsuits concerning their highly caffeinated lemonade drink, the Charged Lemonade. Three people nationwide have been heavily affected, claiming the lives of  21-year-old Pennsylvania resident Sarah Katz and 46-year-old Florida resident Dennis Brown, as well as inducing a life-long heart condition for 28-year-old Rhode Island resident Lauren Skerritt. This led Panera to take precautions by inserting warnings in their stores and online and taking away the self-service aspect of the lemonade in many locations.

Mary Walrath-Holdridge explains in an article from USA Today, that, “Clicking through the item description for any of the three flavors of Charged Lemonades on the chain’s website leads to an image of the lemonade with a product description warning: ‘Contains caffeine. Use in moderation. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.’” Even though these warnings were added, issues still surfaced when Lauren Skerritt had too much of the beverage and developed a life-long heart condition; putting a stop to many future plans she had.

“When I decided to download the app, I could get a free one [charged lemonade] every six hours,” said freshman Amiah Wrighting.

Even though this lemonade has been proven dangerous, students at San Marcos High School have had the lemonade multiple times, and some students go as far as to drink it daily. 

However, these students reported not experiencing any negative side effects. Wrighting said, “I just get a boost of energy.”

The aforementioned customers who had ill effects from the lemonade claimed to only have it one day (although in a very large serving), and fell victim to heart issues within the next 24 hours. It is worth noting that teenagers all over the country are known to drink beverages with very high caffeine content such as coffee, Redbull, Celsius, and many other popular energy drinks.

Freshman Griffin Peddycord said, “Usually I like to have caffeine every day so I feel energized.”

This beverage may seem like the average fun, sugary treat, which many think it is, but it contains more caffeine than the average soda. According to CBS News article, author Aimee Picchi said, “The Panera lawsuit claims that a 30-ounce serving of Charged Lemonade contains as much as 390 milligrams of caffeine, more than the combined caffeine levels of a Red Bull and Monster Energy Drink, which together have about 274 milligrams of the stimulant.”A Charged Lemonade contains almost four times the amount of caffeine that a Redbull does, and about eleven times the amount of caffeine of a 12oz can of Coca-Cola. 

Fortunately, to date there have been no on-campus health issues related to caffeine products at San Marcos High. School nurse, Linsey Oliva said, “I’ve never put down in my notes ‘over-caffeinated’ but there’s definitely potential for that.” Even though there haven’t been any problems on campus regarding caffeine intake, an article from the National Institute of Health article states, “… it has been advised that those who are highly sensitive should not consume >400 mg/d, in order to avoid headaches, drowsiness, anxiety, and nausea.” High amounts of caffeine have the possibility of causing problems like heart issues, anxiety, and fatigue. 

The Panera Bread charged lemonade contains an abundant amount of caffeine, which could lead to experiencing these side effects. Nonetheless, every teen has their own limits to how much caffeine they can safely consume, but acknowledging limits can go far for saving lives and avoiding these side effects.

When asked Panera employees declined to comment for this article.