The Dangers of Mixing Alcohol with Energy Drinks

About 30 percent of college students consume alcohol mixed with energy drinks in a typical month, according to a new study by the University of Florida. While these drinks may give people an extra boost of energy, they may also be putting them at increased risk for drunkenness and impaired driving.

“Previous laboratory research suggests that when caffeine is mixed with alcohol it overcomes the sedating effects of alcohol and people may perceive that they are less intoxicated than they really are,” study author Dennis Thombs, an associate professor in the department of behavioral science and community health at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, said in a news release. “This may lead people to drink more or make uninformed judgments about whether they are safe to drive.”

Researchers studied college-aged adults leaving bars and found that those who consumed energy drinks mixed with alcohol were three times more likely to leave a bar highly intoxicated and four times more likely to intend to drive drunk than those people who drank alcohol only.

“There’s a very common misconception that if you drink caffeine with an alcoholic beverage the stimulant effect of the caffeine counteracts the depressant effect of the alcohol and that is not true,” said study co-author Bruce Goldberger, Ph.D., a professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. “We know that caffeine aggravates the degree of intoxication, which can lead to risky behaviors.”

The study also found the following behaviors among young adults who mixed energy drinks with alcohol:

• The average breath-alcohol concentration reading for people who mixed alcohol and energy drinks was 0.109, well above the legal driving limit of 0.08.
• Those who combined drinks were more likely to leave bars later at night, drink for longer periods of time and ingest more grams of ethanol (the intoxicating agent in alcohol).
• Consumers of alcohol mixed with energy drinks may drink more and misjudge their capabilities because caffeine reduces the sleepy feeling most people experience as they become drunk. 

Health Risks of Energy Drinks

It’s not just the combination of alcohol and energy drinks that can cause problems. Energy drinks on their own are associated with a host of health risks, including the following:

• Restlessness and irritability
• Headaches, tremors, nausea and insomnia
• Increased blood pressure and rapid heart rate
• Heart irregularities
• Manic episodes
• Seizures
• Dehydration
• Chest pain
• Electrolyte disturbances
• Weight gain

A July 6, 2009, article in USA Today called attention to the overuse of energy drinks by high school and college athletes to boost athletic performance or lose weight. The article cited health experts from the SUNY Youth Sports Institute as claiming that athletes who consume too many energy drinks can suffer from dehydration, tremors, heat stroke and heart attacks.

A Need for Regulation?

Energy drinks are not currently regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but some experts have called for the government organization to require warning labels on the beverages.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins, who have spent decades researching the effects of caffeine, recommend that the hundreds of energy drinks now on the market should feature prominent labels noting caffeine doses and warning of potential health risks for consumers.

“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 often unlabeled and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication,” said Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., in a 2008 press release by Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Energy drinks are primarily marketed to teenagers and young adults as performance enhancers and stimulants. According to Griffiths, this marketing strategy puts young people at risk for abusing stronger stimulants such as prescription drugs. A 2008 study of college students found that consumption of energy drinks was a predictor of subsequent non-medical prescription drug use, raising concern that these drinks could serve as a “gateway” to more serious drugs.  

A warning of the dangerous interaction between alcohol and energy drinks could also benefit people who believe that mixing the two does not have any negative side effects. One city in California has already taken such measures, ordering stores that sell energy drinks and alcohol or combined alcohol/energy drinks to post signs informing consumers about the dangers of those products.

The City of Thousand Oaks passed a law requiring stores selling the products to post the following sign near the cooler where the drinks are sold, on the display area or by the register: “Warning: Consuming energy drinks that contain or are mixed with alcohol may mask the signs of impairment and increase your risk of injury.”