January 26, 2011

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Non-alcoholic energy drinks may pose 'high' health risks

"Energy drinks have become enmeshed in the subculture of partying," the paper says. Credit: UMD-SPH
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"Energy drinks have become enmeshed in the subculture of partying," the paper says. Credit: UMD-SPH

Highly-caffeinated energy drinks – even those containing no alcohol – may pose a significant threat to individuals and public health, say researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

In a new online commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), they recommend immediate consumer action, education by health providers, voluntary disclosures by manufacturers and new federal labeling requirements.

"Recent action to make pre-mixed alcoholic unavailable was an important first step, but more continued action is needed," says University of Maryland School of researcher Amelia Arria, who directs the Center on Young Adult Health and Development. "Individuals can still mix these highly caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol on their own. It is also concerning that no regulation exists with regard to the level of caffeine that can be in an energy drink."

Arria and co-author Mary Claire O'Brien, associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, alerted various state attorneys general to the risks of alcoholic energy drinks starting in 2009, actions that culminated last November in actions against Four Loko and similar products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.

HEALTH RISKS

The JAMA paper cites three public health concerns surrounding all packaged energy drinks containing moderate to high levels of caffeine:

RECOMMENDATIONS

The commentary recommends several "proactive steps to protect public health:"

More information: The JAMA paper, The 'High' Risk of Energy Drinks is available online: jama.ama-assn.org/content/earl … 1/jama.2011.109.full

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