Published: November 4, 2008
Do you want a "powerful rush of caffeine?" How about a "feeling of well-being" with "no crash and no jitters?" Maybe you'd like to down some Cocaine, "the world's most dangerous energy supplement."
All these catchy slogans market energy drinks to a target audience of teens and college students. But some researchers think these catch phrases play on drug culture references and that energy drinks can be gateway drugs into abuse of stronger stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall.
In a paper recently published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins' School of Medicine in Baltimore and his co-authors said that energy drinks could result in caffeine toxicity and addiction, plus increase a young person's chances of abusing harder drugs.
In one study published by the American College of Health in March, students who drank at least six energy drinks per month were three times as likely to have smoked cigarettes, abused prescription drugs and been involved in fights.
Energy drink ads boast higher endurance, weight loss and a "legal high," and according to a report from Fox News, 31 percent of U.S. teens drink them. Cocaine Energy Drink even has a "secret ingredient" that numbs your throat as you drink it, an effect eerily similar to the numbing quality of its namesake.
Griffith and his team are calling for caffeine labeling on energy drink packages so consumers can make better-informed choices.
"The case for caffeine labeling is now more urgent because of the new and growing category of highly caffeinated energy drinks," the group of researchers stated in a letter addressed to the Food and Drug Administration.
Many energy drinks print mild warning labels on their cans or Web sites. Monster's can warns: "consume responsibly -- limit three cans per day. Not recommended for children, pregnant women or people sensitive to caffeine." Red Bull's Web site states: "It is recommended that the daily consumption including the consumption at one time of Red Bull Energy Drink should conform to a person's intake of caffeine, and this varies from person to person. The caffeine in one can of Red Bull equals that of one cup of filtered coffee.
The amount of caffeine in energy drinks ranges from none to more than 100 mg per ounce, about nine times the caffeine content in a cup of coffee. Excessive caffeine can result in side effects including excitability, heart palpitations, high blood pressure and physical addiction.
The caffeine in energy drinks -- combined with the high carbohydrate content -- can dehydrate you, causing various problems, including kidney failure, heart-related illnesses, shock, coma and many other complications.
Oklahoma City family doctor Heather Barnes said people with underlying heart problems, blood pressure problems or who are pregnant should never use energy drinks. For most others, energy drinks in moderation are not a problem.
"Just like any other caffeinated beverages like sodas and coffee, if you drink enough of them, you're going to feel side effects, and your body is going to crave that substance in order to feel alert and awake," she said. "I don't think they're completely bad. It's like everything else -- it's moderation."
Barnes recommends drinking no more than one or two energy drinks per week.
And she warned against mixing energy drinks and alcohol. Red Bull and vodka is a popular mixed drink, but drinking energy drink and alcohol concoctions can have deadly results. The caffeine in the energy drink can disguise how intoxicated a person is, potentially leading to alcohol poisoning or causing the person to engage in risky behaviors such as driving while intoxicated and unsafe sex. To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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