Brooklyn native Cory Terry suffered from a heart attack and died shortly after downing a can of Red Bull energy in November of 2011.

While the link between Terry’s heart attack and the energy drink is not 100% certain, his family has filed a lawsuit against Red Bull, believing the energy drink caused his death.

The news reports on the incident state that Terry drank the Red Bull immediately after playing basketball for 45 minutes. It can be dangerous to chug an 8.4oz can loaded with 27g of sugar and 76mg of caffeine is probably not the best thing to do after 45 minutes of cardiovascular activity.

It is common knowledge that both caffeine and exercise activity increase heart rate. So, it wouldn’t take a medical expert to figure out that one should not consume a large amount of caffeine before, during or after a workout.

If the Red Bull which Terry consumed following his workout did have a direct correlation to his death, it wouldn’t be totally his fault. Red Bull’s success as a company is the spawn of its marketing creativity fabricating illusions of physical and mental grandeur in the minds of its target audience.

One advertisement shows a picture of Einstein and claims, “Einstein agrees: Red Bull equals energy. Do you think you know better than Einstein?”

The truth is, the caffeine and added B-vitamins in Red Bull—and similar energy drinks—certainly can offer brain-boosting benefits and may contribute to a more efficient metabolism. The downside is that the sugar and taurine found in the drink counteract these benefits.

The 27 grams of sugar in a can of Red Bull is enough to completely stop your body’s ability to burn fat. The taurine added to Red Bull—marketed by the company as a mental and physical stimulant—is an amino acid which acts as a neurotransmitter, but may be more of a sedative than a stimulant, according to a study done by Weil Cornell Medical College.

By sponsoring professional athletes in motocross, BMX, snowboarding, surfing and other extreme sports, Red Bull markets a way of life to a specific audience. Most of Red Bull’s marketing campaigns promise that the secret to athletic performance and perfection can be discovered by cracking the lid to one of their shiny blue and silver cans of liquid sugar.

One ad campaign shows a swimming pool with one contestant far ahead of the others. In the corner of the picture, there is a can of Red Bull accompanied by the claim, “That’s all it takes.”

Oh, ok. So, Michael Phelps must have won 22 Olympic medals because he made sure to have his daily dose of caffeine and sugar.

Becoming a pro-snowboarder, an Olympic gold medalist or getting your picture on the cover of Surfer are attainable goals through hours of long hard work and a passionate, unshakable determination to realize your dreams. Most great accomplishments have literally nothing to do with what type of energy drink one consumes.

Whether or not that can of Red Bull had an effect on Terry’s death. He is not the first person who has died shortly after consuming the drink. 18-year-old Ross Cooney died after he shared four cans of Red Bull and played in a basketball match.

A 31-year old Swedish woman’s heart stopped while dancing after she drank two cans. Norway, Denmark and France have banned Red Bull from being sold anywhere except pharmacies while Sweden is investigating the roll of the energy drink in these deaths.

Although the link between Red Bull and Terry’s death is not certain, the facts are that most deaths associated with the consumption of Red Bull happened during physical activity.

Clearly, the company should not be allowed to market their product to athletes or advertise that the beverage will enhance athletic performance (at least until more research is done on the result of consuming energy drinks before, during, or after a workout).