Experts warn of caffeine-alcohol mix

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Experts warn of caffeine-alcohol mix
Caffeine and alcohol can be a deadly mix.

The rising popularity of mixed drinks like the "Jager Bomb" (Jagermeister and Red Bull) or the self-explanatory "Vodka and Red Bull" has worrying implications for road safety, research shows.

A field study of more than 800 young drinkers in the US has found those who consumed caffeine-alcohol mixed drinks were often in a drunker state when they left the bar.

Compared to those who drank only alcohol-based drinks, those who reported having caffeine-alcohol mixed drinks were also much more likely to say they intended to drive home.

The problem stems from consuming a stimulant alongside an intoxicant, which clinical studies have shown can reduce the perception of being drunk but not the impairment.

The University of Florida study put researchers on the streets outside bars and clubs, from 10pm to 3am, to quiz young revellers on what they had been drinking and assess their sobriety.

"Patrons who had consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks were at a three-fold increased risk of leaving a bar highly intoxicated," the study found.

"... As well as a four-fold increased risk of intending to drive on leaving the bar district, compared to other drinking patrons who did not consume alcoholic beverages mixed with energy drinks."

Red Bull's introduction to the US market in 1997 has lead to an explosion in the global energy drink sector.

Consuming these drinks with alcohol was now emerging as a cause of "elevated involvement in night-time risk-taking behaviour", according to the study which is published in the journal of Addictive Behaviors.

The rising popularity of caffeine-alcohol mixed drinks was not confined to the US, an Australian expert said.

Dr Lucy Burns, from the University of NSW's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), said a 2009 study of almost 700 Australian ecstasy users found about 70 per cent had consumed caffeine-alcohol mixed drinks.

"It is common to believe that energy drinks will reduce the fatigue, cognitive and motor impairments of alcohol and other drugs," Dr Burns said.

"So there is a real danger that consumers may be more likely to engage in risky behaviours, such as operating a car or a motorcycle."

Consumers needed to be more aware of the effect of caffeine on their body and the risk posed by consuming it alongside alcohol, she said.
Click to expand...

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/1010790/experts-warn-of-caffeine-alcohol-mix
 
[size=+1]Call to cut caffeine in alcohol[/size]
Scottish Labour has called for legal limits on the amount of caffeine in alcoholic drinks such as Buckfast.

The party's call came ahead of the launch of its alcohol commission, which aims to find ways to tackle Scotland's record of drink-related violence.

Labour has opposed Scottish government plans for a minimum price per unit of alcohol but said its commission would be allowed to consider the move.

Ministers said the Labour move showed "blatant disregard" for parliament.

The alcohol commission, being chaired by education expert Prof Sally Brown, will be asked to consider how much caffeine - a psychoactive stimulant - should be allowed in drinks.

Strathclyde Police recently told BBC Scotland that Buckfast, a fortified wine with a high caffeine content, was mentioned in 5,000 crime reports over three years.

Scottish Labour said Buckfast contained 281mg per 750ml bottle (37.5mg per 100ml) - as much as eight standard (355ml) cans of cola.

Another caffeinated drink, Red Square Reloaded, contained 420mg of caffeine per litre (42mg per 100ml).

Labour pointed to the 150mg per litre limit set in Denmark, Iceland and Norway.

Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "I believe the risks involved in consuming caffeinated alcohol are so great that the Scottish government must take action.

"The research suggests you are more likely to end up in hospital or be assaulted if you drink these products."

Prof Brown told BBC Scotland's Politics Show the commission would take a wide-ranging look at the issues surrounding alcohol problems.

She added: "Just as I wouldn't be wanting to look at minimum unit pricing as the thing to solve it, I wouldn't want to look at Buckfast, or indeed even caffeine, as the other bullet that might solve it."

The commission's membership also includes Sam Galbraith, a former Labour minister for health in Scotland, Graeme Pearson, former head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and Glasgow licensing board convener Stephen Dornan.

'Scaremongering' claim
The commission, which will also look at the enforcement of existing laws, aims to influence the government's Alcohol Bill, with a report due in the summer.

It is also expected to consider issues arising from the use of caffeinated soft drinks as mixers.

Ms Baillie reiterated Labour's position on minimum pricing - a policy which has encountered strong opposition support.

She said: "The [Scottish Parliament's] health and sport committee will be looking in detail at those arguments - should the commission wish to look at that I'm not going to be stopping them - but frankly the bulk of it will be on alternative pricing mechanisms."

J. Chandler & Co, which is distributes Buckfast on behalf of Benedictine monks from a monastery in Devon, said it would give evidence to the commission.

The distributor's spokesman, Jim Wilson, accused Labour of "scaremongering".

The Scottish government said evidence on the link between caffeinated alcohol and harm was "inconclusive".

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, said: "This is a smokescreen to hide a blatant disregard for parliament, which is the proper place to debate the issues around the Alcohol Bill - not a hand-picked talking shop designed to delay and distract.

"Obsessing about Buckfast, which accounts for 0.5% of alcohol sold in Scotland, ignores the elephant in the room, which is the excessive consumption of cheap alcohol that's fuelling health and social problems and costing Scotland billions every year."

Lib Dem justice spokesman Robert Brown said: "We need to look at ways to change Scotland's drinking culture effectively.

"More understanding is needed about why young people start drinking- whether Buckfast, beer or alcopops- in the first place.

"Simply banning one or the other will not do the trick."

BMA Scotland chairman Dr Brian Keighley urged the alcohol commission not to dismiss minimum pricing.

He added: "Surely the point of establishing an independent commission is to enable them to consider all the evidence and reach a conclusion based on what is most effective in reducing alcohol-related deaths and social harm."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/8501865.stm

Published: 2010/02/07 13:51:58 GMT

© BBC MMX
 
Ya that is certainly strange. I wonder why? Just a thought, if alcohol were made illegal
again, how much money would the government make from those reprecussions? Other drugs make quite a bit. I really done see it happening though cause they need us to be dumbed down and submissive if they're going to run our lives.
 
Id be more concerned about the health concerns of dirnking alcohol and caffeeine ona regular basis.

Correct me if im wrong but it may cause blood clotting in people with raised blood pressure?

Obviously its rare but people doing this every other day would be at risk im sure..
 
Meh....

People shouldn't be careening down the road, operating a huge metal box that travels at a high velocity, when they're intoxicated. Period. Its dangerous enough as it is when you're completely sober.

Whether or not they consumed alcohol in combination with caffeine as their choice of intoxicants, is a non-issue.
 
^ Maybe you're right, but what if drinking caffeine with alcohol increases the risk that people will falsely judge themselves to be competent to drive, as the article suggests?
Seems like an issue to me.
We will surely see an increase in drunk driving accidents.

I am NOT saying that they should make such drinks illegal, to be clear.
But it does seem to be an issue.
What can we do about it?

EDUCATION

(it makes more sense than treating the people like children and not allowing them to drink such drinks)
 
Sparks, Four-loco, and Joose all rock man.

But, that is just wrong to even make.
It's just asking for trouble, being a legal upper/downer combo.
 
Instead of cutting caffeine and alcohol intake, it's a whole lot better to simply not drive. I quit driving 2 years ago. Let the good times roll.
 
slimvictor said:
^ Maybe you're right, but what if drinking caffeine with alcohol increases the risk that people will falsely judge themselves to be competent to drive, as the article suggests?
Seems like an issue to me.
Click to expand...

I disagree. (At least in the U.S.) Every state has a limit for blood alcohol content, and if you're caught operating a motor vehicle when in excess of that limit you can be charged with a DWI.

In my home state, its roughly equivalent to about 1.4 standard drinks within a one hour period. "Judging yourself to be competent to drive" is a non-issue, really; many people are perfectly competent to drive while in excess of the legal limit, but they are nonetheless still committing a felony crime if they actually do.
 
^ I don't agree with this. I want anyone who is close to drunk off the roads. If high caffeine intake makes them overestimate their driving ability (underestimate their impairment), I think that is something to worry about. I don't want cops involved, or laws, but education seems like a key to reducing unwanted problems in this regard.
 
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