The new Cocaine Energy Drink will probably not entice kids to ditch their Pixy Stix in favor of nose candy, but it could put them in danger of overdosing on a more common drug.

According to a story in The New York Times, politicians criticized the new energy drink’s marketing toward children and teens (it even has its own MySpace page). But mostly, they focused on the name, calling it “insidious” and saying that it glamorized drug use.

They were right in taking a closer look at the concoction, but by focusing on the name, they missed a bigger point – Cocaine Energy Drink should not be marketed to children because it could be dangerous to their health.

Cocaine Energy Drink packs 280 milligrams of caffeine, about twice as much as a cup of coffee, in each 8.4-ounce bottle. Fifteen cans would provide more than enough caffeine to kill a 60-pound child. Australia has banned sales of the drink.

According to the article, energy drinks are considered dietary supplements, so they escape rigorous Food and Drug Administration regulation. That being the case, it would be in the manufacturer’s best interest to take extra care in ensuring that it markets the drink to adults only and that it does so responsibly.

The drink’s Web site promotes using it as a mixer in alcoholic drinks, another strategy marketers should undertake with caution, given the adverse effects of mixing large amounts of caffeine with alcohol.

The story quotes the manufacturer of Cocaine as saying, “I think kids are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.” He’s probably right – they’re not going to become fiends for the devil’s dandruff because of a drink named after a drug. But he also said the name was meant to garner publicity. If that publicity gets people to take action to moderate kids’ and teens’ exposure to the potentially unhealthy, caffeine-loaded drink, then maybe it’s not so bad after all.