Michigan-based manufacturer Living Essentials and its parent company Innovation Ventures have been sued by three states over false advertising regarding the wildly popular 5-Hour Energy performance shots.

The active ingredients in a 5-Hour Energy shot, which was invented by Indian-American billionaire Manoj Bhargava, are taurine, glucuronolactone, malic acid, N-Acetyl L-tyrosine, L-phenylalanine, caffeine and citicoline, The state of Oregon asserts that the only active ingredient in the shots is caffeine.

The Oregon suit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, and according to a statement released by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, similar suits were filed in Washington and Vermont. The lawsuits are requesting a permanent injunction prohibiting 5-Hour Energy’s allegedly deceptive marketing, and also civil penalties and restitution to consumers. Other states are expected to follow suit in the coming weeks.

Living Essentials says that 5-Hour Energy is good for you:

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a statement, “Plainly and simply, in Oregon you cannot promote a product as being effective if you don’t have sufficient evidence to back up your advertising claims.”

The Oregon lawsuit also claims that consumers had been misled with claims that 5-Hour Energy had been recommended by doctors, and that it does not cause a caffeine crash, after the five hours are up.

Some 5-Hour Energy Twitter intrigue:

How you feel after you drink a 5 hour energy and then take a nap with a blanket on your head in 100 degree car pic.twitter.com/p4uKv2Hei1

— Rusel Winser (@RussellWindsor) July 18, 2014

why am i just remembering me, liv, ken & lex split a 5 hour energy thinking it would give us like 1 hour each?…

— Kar (@cutestbudddhist) July 18, 2014

DRANK A 5 HOUR ENERGY AND ATE A PROTEIN BAR TODAY. ASK ME IF I'M WEARING A SHIRT RIGHT NOW. THE ANSWER IS NO.

— Broga Pants (@crunkdumpster) July 18, 2014

I JUST CAUGHT MY BROTHER POURING 5 HOUR ENERGY INTO OUR ORANGE JUICE THIS KIDS GONNA GROW UP PUTTING ROOFIES IN GIRLS DRINKS SMH

— lord mae (@maelena_ayala) July 15, 2014

A representative for Living Essentials, which sells around nine million shots of 5-Hour Energy per day, likened the Oregon suit’s allegations as “grasping at straws” and “civil intimidation,” and said the makers of the drink would fight to defend themselves.

“Hello my friend”:

The lawsuits came about after an investigation launched in 2012 by 33 states. Oregon, Tennessee, Maryland and Vermont are so far the first states to have taken action against Living Essentials.

Image via Wikimedia Commons