Details

Parent Category: Upper-Intermediate News Lessons

Category: Health Lessons

Written by Chris Cotter

More than 500 new energy drinks have been released this past year, and it has doctors worried. Nutritionists warn that the large amounts of caffeine and sugar in each drink can hook kids on an unhealthy up-and-down cycle. The drinks contain megadoses of vitamins, too. These can cause their own side effects if taken every day for a period of months. But maybe the most alarming news comes from reports that kids are drinking several in a row for the high it gives. More and more calls are coming in to poison-control centers from young people sick on too much caffeine.

Danger adds to the appeal. Most brands target in on the danger, particularly towards male teens and twentysomethings. There is "Cocaine Energy Drink," "Pimpjuice," and "Bawls." Hannah Kirby, the creator of Cocaine Energy Drink, said she first wanted to call it "Reboot"--"a pretty ho-hum name." But the name was already taken, so she chose to be daring. The drink is getting the attention she desires, too. Kids quickly noticed it among a thousand other energy drinks. Their slogan: "The Legal Alternative."

Some beer manufacturers now produce "energy beers," or beer that contains caffeine. But mixing energy drinks with alcohol isn't so new. Bartenders have been mixing the first energy drink in the West, called "Red Bull," for more than a decade with vodka. Although the energy drink-alcohol combination doesn't make you feel as drunk, you still are. Coordination and reaction times worsen. The potential for accidents and alcohol poisoning increases.

Just how much caffeine does an energy drink contain? A study at the University of Florida discovered that many of the drinks contain two to four times the amount of caffeine as Coke. The serving size, though, is usually one-third smaller than a standard can. Energy drinks aren't regulatedin the U.S., but the study strongly suggests warning labels.