Authors of New Study Call for Warning Labels to be Placed on Energy Drinks

A new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence reveals just how dangerous energy drinks can be. The beverages contain higher amounts of caffeine than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits in regular soda, but because energy drinks are considered a dietary supplement, the government can’t cap how much caffeine goes into them.

“The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are unlabeled and few include warnings about potential health risks of caffeine intoxication,” stated Roland Griffiths from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, one of the study’s authors. The study, viewed by The Richmond Register (The Register), is published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

A 12-ounce can of soda contains about 35 milligrams (mgs) of caffeine, whereas some energy drinks contain as much as 350 mgs of the drug. Other over-the-counter (OTC) caffeinated products are capped at 71 mgs, but the FDA doesn’t have the authority to limit the amount of caffeine pumped into energy beverages due to their “dietary supplement” status, nor can it force energy drink companies to put warning labels on their products the way it does with manufacturers of other OTC caffeine-containing products, according to The Register.

About 27 percent of college students admitted to having mixed alcohol with energy drinks in a new survey, which is not surprising because energy drinks are generally marketed with young people in mind. The study’s authors write that energy drinks may even serve as a “gateway” to more serious substances.

Redux Beverages of Las Vegas, Nevada, makes an energy beverage known as “Cocaine.” “Cocaine — Instant Rush.  NO Crash!” the company asserts. Cocaine is 350 percent stronger than Red Bull, and according to Redux, it’s the “legal alternative” to the actual drug. The company also claims the beverage gives users both a physiological and psychological high, Consumer Reports said nine years ago.

“I can think of no other product except real cocaine that could have that effect on the public,” James Kirby, the inventor of Cocaine, told the New York Post in 2006. Redux even goes so far as to put a throat-numbing ingredient in the beverage to add an oral sensation much like cocaine does, saying the beverage tastes like a “carbonated atomic fireball!” The company also lists possible alcoholic recipes on its Web site.

Caffeine intoxication is considered a clinical condition marked by nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, tremors, rapid heartbeat, pacing and gastrointestinal distress. In rare instances, too much caffeine can even be deadly. The authors of the study are calling for warning labels on energy drinks to warn consumers about their risks, according to The Register.

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