A man has warned people about the dangers of energy drinks after he suffered a heart attack from knocking back up to 12 cans a day for a year.
Dad Lee Kamen, 55, had a cardiac arrest after working his way through a dozen energy drinks every single day.
Lee, from Hull, now reckons the drinks ought to be banned and is urging shopkeepers not to sell them to under 16s.
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Although many supermarkets don't sell energy drinks to children, it's not against the law for under 16s to buy them.
The bar owner says his 10-year-old daughter was able to go into a shop and buy an energy drink, which he then took off and 'poured straight down the drain'.
Lee, who doesn't smoke or drink, was just 49 when he had a heart attack.
He told Hull Daily Mail: "I was on eight to 12 a day at the time, I was drinking Red Bull and Monster, I used to go to Makro for the pub and would buy cases of 24 cans and just drink them like any other drink.
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"I was working a lot and drank them to keep me going. This probably went on for about a year.
"One day I collapsed with a heart attack and had to have a stent fitted, I am now on medication for life due to those dangerous drinks.
"When I was in hospital after the heart attack, the doctor told me the energy drink consumption was the cause. I didn't have a clue there was anything wrong with drinking them until then.
"It was a hell of a shock at the time, but now I am passionate about this issue."
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Lee said his young daughter got into his car one day after school with a can of energy drink in her hand.
He said: "I took it straight off her and poured it straight down the drain."
Guidelines recommend that children between 12 and 18 should not consume more than 100mg of caffeine a day, which is around the amount found in a cup of coffee.
However, energy drinks can contain up to 500mg per can.
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Earlier this year, the British Medical Journal reported on a 21-year-old who was left with heart-failure following excessive consumption of energy drinks.
The unnamed man was drinking two litres of caffeinated drinks a day, before he eventually ended up needing hospital treatment.
Doctors wrote the case report on the uni student after he sought medical guidance when he was suffering from shortness of breath and weight loss.
Tests showed that he had heart and kidney failure.
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Every can he had been drinking contained 160mg of caffeine, meaning he was consuming 640mg a day.
Featured Image Credit: MEN MediaTopics: UK News