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VOL. 25 NO. 41
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Northern bus cuts approved
Lauren benn PHOTO
caffeine-laden drinks, gum and other products are being consumed by young people, leading to calls for more controls.
Teen energy drink use probed
By Anna Killen Energy drinks and products like caffeineinfused gums and chocolate bars are on Skeena Middle School’s radar, and the school could could move towards being an “energy product” free zone. “It’s something that I can see us having a conversation about at our school in the near future and I wouldn’t be surprised if other schools would do the same,” said Skeena principal Phil Barron, noting that the products can’t be bought at the school but students can still bring them into the building. He hasn’t seen a huge increase in usage of drinks around the school this year, but the new products mean students can be more discrete with their use. “The energy drink companies are putting it out in gum form, chocolate bar form, and the little tabs that you put on your tongue,” Barron said. “It seems like they’re coming up with some creative ways to put them in the hands
of kids and obviously that can have a bit of an adverse effect on young people.” Some of the documented ill effects of youth consuming these products include nausea, irritability, headaches, palpitations, and sleeplessness. The products are supposed to carry warnings that they shouldn’t be consumed by pregnant women or children, and have recommendations on how many servings an adult should consume per day. The drinks can’t have more than 180 mg of caffeine, about the same as a cup of coffee. Skeena wouldn’t be the first school to restrict the use of these products. Before Thornhill Junior Secondary closed last year it was an “energy drink free” school, but Barron said that didn’t stop students from going to the Chevron at lunch. The situation at Skeena is a bit different – students can only leave the grounds at lunch if their parents have signed a consent form saying they can go home for lunch.
There’s renewed interest in energy drinks and products following an American study saying that emergency room visits related to highcaffeinated drinks have doubled over the past four years. Health Canada is also beginning to collect information on the adverse effects of the drinks and is changing how they are classified and labelled by putting them under the food and beverage category. “Before that they were considered a natural health product, and a natural health product doesn’t have to have a nutrition facts table on it,” says local Northern Health nutritionist Flo Sheppard, noting that these drinks often include “natural” stimulants as well as caffeine. “Now that they’re actually considered food, they will have to have a nutrition facts panel on it.” A 2010 report from Health Canada states that 7 million energy drinks are sold per month in Canada, with use among teens and adolescents growing.
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TERRACE mayor Dave Pernarowski is disappointed Greyhound’s been given approval to cancel its night time service between Prince Rupert and Prince George. The company cited poor ridership and mounting losses in applying to the provincial government’s Passenger Transportation Board to cut service from 22 trips, some of which were during the night, to a daytime service of one each way each day for a weekly total of 14. “I think we had very good support across the north corridor to not have any service disruption or service cuts and I think safety is one of the big reasons,” said Pernarowski in reacting to the transportation board’s decision. But the board noted in its decision that the service would still be offered, thus satisfying a public need. “Ridership is insufficient for Greyhound to operate above the break-even point,” said Jan Brooke, director of the Passenger Transportation Board about what the board considered in its decision. “Minimum route frequencies … ensures that the public will continue to have interbus service on this route and will allow Greyhound to improve its financial situation.” But there were other issues on the table to consider, acknowledged Brooke. Public comments submitted when Greyhound filed its application brought up health and safety concerns as Hwy16 has become known as the Highway of Tears, a label attached in response to the number of women who have either been murdered or who have gone missing over the decades. See Page 5 for more on public transportation.
Growing gardens
Lock your cars
Cross country
A local gardener has some ideas on how to improve food security \COMMUNITY A14
RCMP say people need to secure vehicles after a rash of theft attempts \NEWS A12
The annual Snow Valley Open happens Saturday at Onion Lake ski trails \SPORTS A23