Letters
Substance‐related disorders Toxicology
Volume 196 - Issue 7

Energy drinks: health risks and toxicity

Authors:  Amy E Pennay and Dan I Lubman

Med J Aust 2012; 196 (7): 442. || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10211
Published online: 16 April 2012
To the Editor: In their analysis of caffeine toxicity related to energy drinks, Gunja and Brown identified that nearly one-quarter of calls concerning recreational use of energy drinks made to an Australian poisons centre reported ...
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To the Editor: In their analysis of caffeine toxicity related to energy drinks, Gunja and Brown identified that nearly one-quarter of calls concerning recreational use of energy drinks made to an Australian poisons centre reported co-ingestion of alcohol.1 While combining alcohol with energy drinks has been popular in Western countries since the early 2000s, there remains a dearth of research in this area, with no Australian data available on its prevalence,2 and only one Australian qualitative study has been published.3

In 2011, we conducted a small qualitative study that involved five sessions of observation in licensed venues, in-depth interviews with 10 young consumers of alcohol and energy drink (AED) mixes and in-depth interviews with 12 key stakeholders (including emergency services personnel, venue operators and policymakers). We found that AED use has become normalised in the night-time leisure scene, with some young people consuming upwards of eight AED mixes per night — vastly more than the official recommended intake of two energy drinks per day. AED mixes are popular because they improve alertness and energy and facilitate intoxication, while also reducing subjective perceptions of intoxication.

The most common harms experienced among our subjects were difficulty sleeping and severe hangovers. Less frequent harms were similar to those reported to the poisons information centre,1 including palpitations, tremor, agitation and gastrointestinal upset. Two common harms reported by emergency services staff were alcohol poisoning and caffeine overdose. However, we found that paramedics and clinical staff do not routinely screen for energy drink consumption in the context of an alcohol-related presentation.

Clearly, more Australian research on AED use is required, including prevalence data, patterns of consumption and associated harms. In the meantime, clinicians need to be cognisant of the harms associated with AED consumption and to ensure that they screen for and provide relevant harm-reduction advice to energy drink consumers.

Authors

  • Amy E Pennay1
  • Dan I Lubman1,2
  • 1. Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 2. Monash University, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: amy.pennay@turningpoint.org.au

Competing interests

No relevant disclosures.

References

View this article on Wiley Online Library

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