By Mike Napolitano
When students take energy drinks from the drivers of one of those Red Bull Mini Coopers or Monster pickup trucks, do they really know what they’re getting?
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are calling for the drinks to carry warning labels displaying caffeine content and possible health risks. In an article in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal , researchers cite concerns about the growing energy drink industry, from its aggressive marketing strategies to the drinks’ increased use in combination with alcohol.
Manufacturers have thus far avoided warning labels on caffeinated energy drinks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, already limits the caffeine content in soda to 71 milligram per 12 ounces or less, and requires over-the-counter medications containing the drug to list their contents and provide warnings about potential health risks.
Chad Reissig, one of the study’s authors, said he wants to see the same regulations apply to these drinks.
“We would want the amount of caffeine listed, as well as warnings about caffeine [and] some of the symptoms of caffeine intoxication and guidelines,” he said in an interview to The News.
Craig Stevens, vice president of communications for the American Beverage Association (ABA), said he thinks requiring labels on energy drinks would be unnecessary and alarmist.
“I think it’s important to keep it in perspective,” he said. “The mainstream energy drinks have about half the caffeine that you get from a coffeehouse coffee. What’s next? Are we going to see bouncers at Starbucks asking for IDs from kids?”
Many popular brands of energy drinks contain no more than 200 milligram of caffeine per 12 ounces: Red Bull with 80 milligram; Monster with 160; and Rockstar Zero Carb with 180. Some, however, contain a much higher concentration. Wired X505 offers 505 milligram in 23.5 ounces, and Powerspike packs 100 milligram into a one ounce shot. Stevens said that while the mainstream 16 ounces energy drink contains about 160 milligram of caffeine, a coffee of the same size has roughly 320 milligram in it. And while the ways in which people get caffeine have changed, he said it’s still the same drug people have used throughout history.
“Caffeine has been used by millions of people over thousands of years, literally,” he said.
Reissig said his main concern was not the amount of caffeine in each drink, but the way in which these types of drinks are used by young people.
“With respect to college kids, I think the largest danger is energy drinks in combination with alcohol,” Reissig said. “If we give them the combination of energy drinks and alcohol, their ability is still impaired … but they underestimate how drunk they are.”
Reissig said the effects of these type of drinks can mask the usual drowsiness associated with drinking alcohol and encourage people to be more reckless.
The researchers said consuming too much caffeine can cause gastrointestinal pain, anxiety and agitation, rapid heartbeat and insomnia. Those with a low tolerance to the drug are especially susceptible, they said.
“One of our concerns is caffeine intoxication, and in general how much it affects you is dependent on tolerance and how often you drink,” Reissig said. “For a lot of people this won’t be a problem, but for kids and adolescents who aren’t used to it, it can be.”
Cecilia Johnson, a sophomore psychology major, said her caffeine tolerance has risen to the point where she no longer feels the energized by the drinks.
“I used to use them in high school, but they don’t really have an effect on me anymore,” she said. “They’re also way too sweet.”
The marketing of energy drinks, Reissig said, is targeted at a college-aged audience, many of whom are not used to taking in so much caffeine at once.
“The sales of these things are just through the roof, with a 50 percent growth every year over a four year period,” he said.
Sean Barber, a sophomore finance major, said he likes to drink energy drinks in moderation.
“I use them occasionally, before workouts sometimes, if I don’t feel like drinking coffee,” he said.
Barber said he was not too concerned with the possible health risks of caffeine intoxication.
“I heard consuming caffeine in moderation isn’t bad for you,” he said.
What Reissig found most distressing, he said, was the lack of regulation in terms of product labeling.
“I think what we were most surprised by was the fact that the majority of these energy drinks don’t list their caffeine content,” he said.
Reissig said he hopes to see labels on energy drinks soon.
“One thing that has helped us along is that we received a good amount of attention from this article [Drug and Alcohol Dependence]. So now the word is really getting out there,” he said.
The article, however, is not where the Johns Hopkins researchers’ work has stopped.
“We’re in the process of drafting a letter to the FDA basically highlighting the important aspects of the paper and circulating it around experts,” he said. “We hope to get the letter signed and endorsed by multiple experts in the field.”
