Group Pushes For Warning Labels on Energy Drinks

Drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and Full Throttle have become increasingly popular, and one group of prominent caffeine researchers is saying that they should come with warning labels. In an article published this month, the researchers, who are from Johns Hopkins University, say that the drink labels should alert consumers to caffeine doses and potential health risks.

The caffeine content of energy drinks ranges from 50 milligrams to more than 500 milligrams per serving. A regular 12-ounce cola drink contains approximately 35 milligrams of caffeine, and a 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee has about 80 to 150 milligrams of caffeine.

This means that some energy drinks contain as much caffeine as 14 cans of Coca-Cola, said Roland Griffiths, one of the study authors and a professor of behavioral biology. "Yet the caffeine amounts are often unlabeled, and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication," he said.

Dr. Griffiths said that caffeine intoxication is a clinical syndrome included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases. Symptoms of intoxication are nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, rapid heartbeats, restlessness and pacing, and sometimes even death.

A 2007 survey of almost 500 college students found that 51 percent had consumed at least one energy drink during the past month. Of these students, 29 percent reported "weekly jolt and crash episodes," and 19 percent reported heart palpitations from energy drinks, the report said. The same survey found that 27 percent of the students had mixed energy drinks and alcohol at least once in the past month.

Of this habit Dr. Griffiths said, "Alcohol adds another level of danger. Caffeine in high doses can give users a false sense of alertness that provides incentive to drive a car or in other ways put themselves in danger."

The American Beverage Association criticized the study for focusing on "novelty" brands rather than mainstream energy drinks that make up the majority of the market. The association said that mainstream beverages contain only moderate amounts of caffeine that are often less than the amount found in coffeehouse beverages.

Dr. Griffiths and his colleagues are in the process of collecting case reports of intoxication from energy drinks in children and adolescents.

Source: "Warning Labels for Caffeinated Energy Drinks." The New York Times. September 25, 2008.