Red Bull, Cocaine, Full Throttle, RockStar, Blak, Monster... Hype or Harm?
Mike glances over at his clock and it is already 11 PM. Another night has come too soon. He hasn't even begun to think about his ten page paper that is due at 9 AM. Mike definitely needs a jolt to get going so he grabs an energy drink out of his mini-fridge.
What's this energy drink got in store for Mike? Caffeine and lots of it! But how much he’ll never know because it's not listed on the label, and it's often disguised as guarana or some other undefined supplement. Some reports indicate there is as much caffeine in one energy drink (Cocaine, Monster, Red Bull, Rockstar) as in 2 to 3 standard-sized Cokes. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) doesn't regulate energy drinks (like they do food and drugs) so this means no one actually knows if these products are safe and contain the ingredients the label says they do. Because they are not regulated, energy drinks are not required to list the amount of caffeine and other ingredients on the label. So the message is, buyer beware.
So what's the harm? Isn't caffeine what Mike needs right now? Not really. This much caffeine is going to dehydrate Mike, may cause him to become addicted to caffeine, may make him anxious and unable to get any sleep tonight.
Consider these facts:
- More than 500 new energy drinks have been launched worldwide this year
- The energy drink market is a 3.4 billion a year industry that is growing
- As soda consumption decreases, energy drinks are filling in the gap
- According to Simmons Research, thirty-one percent of US teenagers report that they drink energy drinks (7.6 million teenagers, a jump of three million in three years).
- Cocaine, relatively new to the market, was recently pulled from 7 Eleven stores because of parental complaints related to the name.
- Researchers in Chicago reported this month that they saw a surprisingly high number of cases of caffeine abuse over the past three years, including 12 percent that required hospital treatment. The average age of the victims was 21.
Energy drinks are being marketed to kids, and teenagers, including college students. They are referred to as the "Starbucks" of this generation. They are promising increased endurance, weight loss and legal highs. They may also be interfering with sleep due to too much caffeine. Most adolescents already have enough challenges interfering with sleep.
Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing are producing energy beers containing caffeine. A Brazilian study found college students didn’t feel as drunk as they actually were after drinking vodka and Red Bull. The danger is that individuals tend to drink more because they don't feel as intoxicated but their blood alcohol levels may be dangerously high. Their perception of their actual coordination and reaction time didn’t match objective tests.
The irony is that energy drinks are touted to be a healthy drink alternative. The problem is that these drinks are dehydrating, can have negative health effects with or without alcohol, hamper precious sleep and often crowd out other nutritious beverages. What about drinking milk, juice or water as your energy drink of choice? Or even a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate? These choices probably taste better, are healthier, safer and much cheaper than your favorite energy drink.
Alcohol, Energy Drinks and Youth: A Dangerous Mix
Alcohol companies are finding increasingly dangerous ways to hook the nation’s youth and fuel the underage drinking epidemic. That is the conclusion of a new report, Alcohol, Energy Drinks, and Youth: A Dangerous Mix, released by Marin Institute today at the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center annual conference in Orlando. The report examines the alcohol industry’s youth-oriented marketing tactics promoting the consumption of alcoholic energy drinks, such as Bud Extra, Tilt, Sparks, and Rockstar 21.
http://www.marininstitute.org/alcopops/energy_drink_report.htm
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