I believe that there needs to be some form of regulations on these products because they advertise to the most vulnerable age group and they are the highest at risk for other dangers. You mentioned that sodas were forced to lower their caffeine levels to 71mg and energy drinks are allowed to go 5 times over that. What amazes me is that these products are potentially very dangerous to ones health and somehow they passed through the FDA. Post navigation Previous post: ← Is Winter Depression a Real Thing? Next post: Do bike helmets increase risk? → This entry was posted in Uncategorized on Octoby Ryan Edward Schmidt. Without the completion of this experiment it would be difficult to fail to reject the null hypothesis that energy drinks kill people and not chance. If one could determine safe levels to conduct a double blind experiment, each group would need to be random to take out the variables listed above, and each person would need to receive the same amount of energy drink and alcohol. The only way to observe whether this is the case is through statistics, but due to the tremendous amounts of variability (amount of alcohol and energy drink consumed, weight, and other outside variables), it would be extremely difficult to have an accurate experiment. It would not be safe to a conduct double blind test of giving users to alcohol and energy drinks because of its possible unsafe side affects when mixed. Doctors believe the caffeine in the drink intensifies the alcohol effect making them unsafe to consume. Before the change, the 23.5 ounce drink contained 12 percent alcohol content and as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. In 2010 the popular drink Four Loko’s were forced to change the contents of the drink. It also has shown to double the like hood of being taken advantage of sexually. Studies have shown that those who consume energy drinks while drinking alcohol are three times more likely to binge drink than those who do not. By doing so the depressant side effect of alcohol consumption is magnified. A relatively common occurrence today of high school and college students is mixing alcohol with energy drinks. Many feel that educating teens is the best way to prevent the heart issues, but some feel there should be legal action taken because just one drink can have negative effect on a teen, but especially if they are young children. The known and unknown pharmacology of agents included in such drinks, combined with reports of toxicity, raises concern for potentially serious adverse effects in association with energy drink use.” The consumption of energy drinks has shown to increase risk of cardiac issues especially amongst teens (2). The journal of pediatrics study on caffeine overdose led to the following statement, “Energy drinks have no therapeutic benefit, and many ingredients are understudied and not regulated. Soft drinks such as Pepsi and coke have caffeine limitations set by the FDA set at 71 mg, but there are energy drinks on the market that have caffeine as high as 357mg, over five times the limit set on soda. They are consumed by nearly 31% of percent of 12-17 year olds and 34% of all 18-24 years olds(3). One of the most popular caffeinated drinks amongst the teenage generation because of its high spike in energy and cool reputation is energy drinks. 90% of Americans consume a caffeinated drink on a daily basis. Caffeine works very similar to many drugs because of its addictive traits including the usage of the same brain pathway as heroin, amphetamines, and cocaine. Caffeinated drinks are consumed by millions of Americans every day, but what many do not realize are the effects some of them may have on the body.
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