The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already ruled the sale of pre-mixed versions of alcohol and caffeinated energy drinks as unsafe.
They are currently investigating more than 100 reports of adverse events over the last five years that have a possible connection with consumption of highly-caffeinated energy drinks – including at least 18 deaths.
So why are they such a risky combination?
The Australian Medical Association President, Dr Steve Hambleton, says mixing energy drinks with alcohol can lead to excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine, both of which are harmful in high doses, let alone mixed together. He also cautions that caffeine can mask the effects of alcohol intoxication.
“Over-consumption has resulted in increased calls to the Poisons Information Line in NSW, with approximately 16.7 percent of calls related to highly-caffeinated energy drinks and alcohol,” Dr Hambleton says.
The potential for harm falls into three main categories
According to Dr Hambleton the three main categories for the potential for harm caused by combining energy drinks with alcohol are:
1. Dehydration
The combination of alcohol and caffeine increases your risk of dehydration, and Dr Hambleton says this can in turn swiftly lead to symptoms that include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, headache, increased heart rate, muscle cramp – and a more severe hangover. Summer temperatures (especially at all-day events) can exacerbate the risks.
2. Altered perception and toxicity
Caffeine can reduce your perception of how affected you are by the alcohol you’ve consumed, leading to increased consumption. Dr Hambleton adds the more intoxicated you are, the more impaired your judgment and thinking processes become (which puts you at increased risk of injury through your actions, as well as increased risk of alcohol poisoning.)
Combining energy drinks with alcohol may result in being awake for longer, which provides the more opportunity for drinking to continue longer than it otherwise would.
3. Cardiovascular problems
“The combination of caffeine, a stimulant, and alcohol, a depressant, sends mixed messages to the nervous system, which can result in cardiovascular problems as well as sleep disturbances,” says Dr Hambleton. Alcohol and energy drink mixing aside, high consumption of caffeine drinks alone pose a heart health risk.
So what can parents do to keep their kids safe?
Talk, talk, talk to your teen! And don’t leave the conversation until your teen is 18 years old and legally able to drink alcohol because then it will be too late.
Chances are that your teen has already drunk energy drinks at some point in their teen years, and perhaps consumption of these drinks is a regular part of their day, much like coffee and tea is for so many of us. If caffeinated drinks already form part of their everyday routine, it may be challenging to introduce the idea that these drinks can be hazardous – particularly when mixed with alcohol.
Despite the fact that teens can resist listening to anything parents have to say, it is important to remind your teen that alcohol and caffeine work together in ways that can be dangerous and may increase the risk of harm; that the depressive effects of alcohol and the stimulating effects of caffeine will not cancel each other out.
Poisons Information Centre Australia, call 13 11 26.
