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The dangers of consuming energy drinks such as Red Bull, Rockstar and Tab have recently come to light after some Yellowknife teens were reportedly sick from drinking them and taking caffeine pills.

According to Health Canada, recommended caffeine consumption for most adults is 400 mg per day, but the recommended intake for children ranges from only 45 mg to 85 mg per day, depending on the child's age.

A typical energy drink meets or exceeds the limit for children up to age 12. Others, such as Beaver Buzz - which contains 182 mg of caffeine per 8.3-oz can - is more than double what Health Canada considers safe.

Caffeine is not a dangerous drug when consumed in small quantities but it's currently impossible to effectively regulate how much caffeine young people are consuming. This is why the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the Western Arctic recommends putting a ban on selling energy products to people younger than 18.

At least one convenience store employee in town - Ponine Suarez of Mac's - has already stopped selling such products to youth.

But in order to put a territory-wide ban on the drinks, debate on the topic would have to start at the federal level and it would take some time to make the idea a reality, according to Dr. Andre Corriveau, the NWT's chief medical officer. Whether or not the government institutes a ban in the future, the onus is on parents and guardians to inform their children of caffeine overdose.

Kids should be informed of the dangers of excessive caffeine use and discouraged from consuming it in high quantities.

It's been four years since the federal government banned the use of barbed hooks in NWT waters, yet it remains a serious challenge to find barbless lures on store shelves.

In fact, there are hardly any, which isn't surprising considering that other than Manitoba, the NWT is the only jurisdiction in the country where barbed hooks are banned entirely.

The person caught using barbed hooks while fishing on Prosperous Lake last month has only himself to blame but something must be said about the lack of progress on the manufacturing end.

NWT residents are largely in support of barbless fishing. The practice means released fish are more likely to survive. To fish barbless usually means pinching the barbs down with a pair of pliers.

Unlike provinces, fishing regulations in the NWT are created by Parliament in Ottawa. But Parliament does have considerable say on fishing products sold on store shelves nationwide.

A bold move would have been to ban the sale of barbed hooks nationwide along with banning their use in NWT waters. In the meantime, NWT residents - unlike other Canadian anglers - will have to continue bloodying their fingers and ruining their expensive fishing lures trying to pinch down barbs.

If one were to view ministerial portfolios as the initial test for Nunavut's first female premier, Eva Aariak passed with flying colours.

Aariak has Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, Status of Women and Immigration for herself.

All logical choices and -- while not to downplay any of the three -- not the type of responsibilities to take too much valuable time away from Aariak's other duties. Grade: A

Peter Taptuna was given Economic Development and Transportation, Nunavut Business Credit Corp., Nunavut Development Corp. and Mines.

He has the skills to handle them, especially with many of the decisions he'll be faced with linked together.

He will have to resist the temptation to tag team with Keith Peterson and focus too much on the Kitikmeot or all bets are off. Grade: C+

Veteran Louis Tapardjuk was given Justice, Culture, Language, Elders and Youth and Languages.

With this trio, he will be able to focus a good deal of his time on Justice and that's a good thing. Grade: B+

Hunter Tootoo makes his ministerial debut with Education, Nunavut Arctic College, Nunavut Housing Corp. and Homelessness.

While homelessness is a rising issue in Nunavut, education is the big one here and Tootoo has shown he has little patience for plans that call for lowering the standards bar.

That, also, is a good thing. Grade: B+

Lorne Kusugak brings a strong track record as a municipal leader and board member to Community and Government Services, Qulliq Energy Corp. and Energy.

He is a natural fit for these titles, but must resist the temptation as a first-time minister to try and do too much, too soon. Grade: B+

Daniel Shewchuk should be a ringer for minister of Environment and a breath of fresh air in Human Resources.

Given his years of experience in Nunavut, he should be a solid bridge between western science and traditional knowledge.

He must also resist the temptation to do too much, too fast. Grade B+

If Taptuna must be careful not to focus too much on the Kitikmeot, Keith Peterson must be extra careful.

The possessor of a sharp mind and engaging personality, Peterson's main flaw is that he often does not react well to criticism.

He may have taken on too much with Finance and Health and Social Services, not to mention Worker's Safety and Compensation Commission and the Utility Rates Review Council.

He will have to listen to his senior staff and make them feel comfortable in bringing forth their opinions if he's to be successful.

Grade: C+ (would be B+ if not for both Health and Finance together).

There are many who do not like first-time MLAs taking ministerial portfolios.

But with so many new faces this time around, the MLAs really had no choice.

Only time will tell if the lack of experience will show during what promises to be a rocky road ahead.

With one position left to fill after the Akulliq byelection, and given the candidates the MLAs presented her with, Aariak did an excellent job in giving them the best chance to succeed.

Hopefully, they will make the best of it.

As anyone who watches television will already know, the season of Christmas-themed commercials has begun.

For the next month and a half, and even longer if you count Boxing Day sales, we'll all be bombarded with advertisements telling us how we'll all be much happier or be able to truly show our love for someone else if we buy them a certain gift.

The real target for many advertisements is the younger generations.

That's why it's so nice to hear about youth who are doing more than just sharpening up their pencils to write out their wish lists for Santa Claus during this consumer driven season.

At Thomas Simpson school in Fort Simpson the student body, all 143 strong, is starting their annual Christmas campaign.

Instead of thinking about what they can hope to receive on Christmas morning, the students are contemplating what they can give others.

For the third year in a row the student council has decided to support a program run by Samaritan's Purse, an international relief agency.

Students will raise money and using Samaritan's Purse's gift catalogue they will purchase items that will be given to people in developing regions around the world.

There are no iPods or laptops on this list. Instead $350 will buy an ox while $70 is enough for a goat. A mere $6 will purchase warm blankets while those with deeper pockets can buy an emergency shelter for $100.

Last year TSS raised $2,500 and used it to purchase 107 items.

When asked about the reasons they support the program members of the student council had a difficult time expressing their thoughts verbally.

The gist of it was they know they have a lot while many people have little and it's so easy to help them.

In different forms many schools around the Deh Cho promote this idea during the lead up to Christmas.

Collecting non-perishable food items for donation is one popular option for schools.

By seeing a stack of cans and boxes grow even young students quickly learn they are never too small to make a difference.

It's important for communities to support student initiatives of this kind whether it be fundraising for Samaritan's Purse or collecting cans of food.

In a world where the distribution of wealth is so uneven but material goods are promoted as a way to happiness everyone needs to be reminded that a far better feeling comes from unselfishly giving than from receiving.

They say that admitting you have an addiction is the first step to overcoming it. In 2006, president George W. Bush admitted in his state of the union address that the United States is addicted to oil.

Canadians, like our neighbours to the south, are equally if not more addicted to oil. Single-use shopping bags are just one example of this addiction because, in case you didn't know, all plastic is made from oil. The bags are also an addiction in themselves. Let's admit it. We are addicted to plastic bags. As long as they are available, we will use them.

Councillor Terry Halifax is absolutely right when he says this is something that is easy for town council to do and a pain for everyone else. He is right when he says there are bigger waste management issues to address. If plastic bags are a problem, then littering is a crisis. But we have to start somewhere. This tiny step may only be symbolic at best, but it may lead to a huge change in the way Inuvik consumers think.

Plastic bags are frivolous. It is stupid to use any amount of a non-renewable resource on the production of an item that will ultimately be thrown away, especially when we have a superior alternative readily at hand.

Some Inuvik residents have said the bags are handy when out on the land. They use them for meat and fish. This is a time when we should turn to our elders for traditional knowledge. Let's ask them: what did you use to store your fish before we had plastic bags?

Let's not stop there. Creating a green world is going to be a mixture of embracing clean technology and giving up dirty 20th century habits in favour of the old ways. It would be foolish to think we could simply return to the land, but it would be equally foolish to think that the old ways were useless. They served us well for millennia while plastic bags are only 40 years old.

A bag ban would have an immediate visible effect on the town. Perhaps more important than the esthetic effect, banning bags would send a message to the world and to our residents. It would force people to come to terms with the fact that the age of disposable products needs to end.

Bringing in biodegradable bags or a bag tax will only prolong our addiction. Like an alcoholic quitting hard liquor and drinking only beer, we would be fooling nobody but ourselves.

Let's quit cold turkey. Ban the bag and be done with it.