Many of us may enjoy the occasional alcohol/energy drink
combination, but what do we really know about the possible consequences of
drinking these concoctions? New research has found that even though these
mixed drinks may taste good, they have negative side effects.
The study found that individuals who drink alcohol/energy drink combinations
are three times more likely to leave bars intoxicated and are four-five times
more likely to drive drunk. Energy drinks, which contain caffeine, lessen
the effects of alcohol leading individuals to "drink more or make
uninformed judgments about whether they are safe to drive."
From introductory psychology, we learned that alcohol impairs judgment. Everybody knows that driving while intoxicated is not ideal, but when under the influence of alcohol, individuals often feel on top of the world and that they can do anything, including drive. Now that we add caffeine (energy drinks) to the mix, instances of drunk driving may become more frequent.
It is often times hard to teach an old dog new tricks, so if you are one of those individuals who enjoy alcohol/energy drink combinations, consider this research the next time you drink and perhaps limit yourself. The last thing any of us would want is to get an OWI or perhaps be charged with vehicular manslaughter!
This is a very good blog post, many of us out there don't realize that just because it tastes good means its always good. That is actually the opposite when it comes to alcohol. I had an encounter with this actually last weekend. My roommate was drinking jager and red bull, he drank like 3/4 the bottle through shots with red bull in like an hour, and I believe he was loud and obnoxious until he blacked out about an hour later. He didn't remember anything, and I know it was because he mixed about 4 or 5 red cans of red bull with all that alcohol.
I found this a very interesting topic because I actually am a person who enjoys the occasional vodka red bull or sparks. I always knew it was a bad idea to mix them together but didn't realize to what extent. I found a website with a list of some premixed alcoholic energy drinks, many of which don't even look like they're alcoholic just energy drinks, which is not the case.
http://www.energyfiend.com/2007/05/alcoholic-energy-drinks-the-list
What an interesting topic! I love to drink vodka bull and even thought i know the side effects. The combination is also known to cause heart problems more than the drinks do seperatly. I did go to bars in Iowa City a while ago and i was told that they dont even serve red bull at all, just like the extreme in Germany where its illegal to sell the combination of Red bull vodka because of its known side effects. As much as i like the combinaiton i do agree with all that has been said about it. But i feel its just like anything else in life, if we're told not to do it we do it anyway fully aware of the consequences. Add the fact that vodka/bull tastes great, makes it even more of a Devil's temptation.
So the approach that bar took in Iowa City that just palinly doesnt serve red bull i think is the best way to do it if one was to try and cut back on peoples drinking from getting out of hand. But then again if a person drinks more they spend more and if the spend more then the owners makes more, so it only makes sense for the owner to look the other way and put the responsibilty on the customer to drink responsibly.
Also the fact that Waterloo/ Cedar Falls is a pretty small area that doesnt have many Taxi's driving around is a big draw back where as in bigger cities its easier to be responsible and leave the car and grab a cab if drinking went over the excess.
This was a great article and I agree with the others. I too am a fan of the energy drink and vodka mix. I tend to go for the Monster drink and vodka. I can definitely tell the difference when I drink combination drinks this Monster and vodka, compared to just beer. I feel a lot more jittery, i can feel myself getting drunk on a faster level. They taste great which leads to the excessive amount when people choose to drink these kinds of drinks.
I found this study to actually be helpful for my own personal choices. The fact that you are three times more likely to drive drunk and be that far over the limit scares me. I also agree with the statement of Devil's temptation. If we are told something is bad for us and we know the consequences straight forward, we still are going to do it until it effects us directly and we have a major consequence that we have to deal with on our own.
I think a lot of social influence has a lot to do with it as well. More times than not, if a group of girls go out they are more likely to get a mixed drink, like vodka redbulls, than a pitcher of beer to share. You are going to be drinking what the rest of the group is drinking.
I really enjoyed this article and reading the comments on it. I think it was very applicable to our college lives if we so choose to drink.
I also agree with the previous comments, and think the topic was perfect for people our age-not just because college kids consume a lot of alcohol, but because energy drinks have become a staple for most teens and young adults. The mixture of an energy drink and alcohol seems like a logical idea, you can get drunk, but not suffer the unfortunate side effect of getting tired due to the late night hours or alcohol. The problem with the energy drink-alcohol mixture is that the energy drink is a stimulant and the alcohol is a depressant, so you might think that they cancel each other out, but really you're getting a lot drunker than you realize because of the stimulant from the energy drink. You can actually get much more intoxicated than you normally would. This can also happen with caffeinated pop mixed with alcohol, like the infamous 'rum and coke.' If you're going to drink, it's probably better to keep your alcohol and caffeine-surged beverages separate.
I found this post rather interesting as well. Many people (especially college students) have had a drink of combination of alcohol and energy drinks and most have never thought about the potential danger of it. I think this is a good point to point out. After all it does make sense, i mean combining alcohol with somethin that is suppose to give you wings could posible be a bad idea. Considering that one is a depressant and one is a stimulant. I think this could also be compared to drinking while doing other drugs such as cocaine. Obviously not the exact effects but if you think about it both is combining stimulants with depressants. Some people just dont get the satisfaction they drive for off of alchohol and they make the poor decision to add another substance to it. It makes sense to me that energy drinks and alcohol could be bad news.
As a frequent consumer of vodka-redbull drinks, I am offended to think that I would be 4 to 5 times more likely to drive because I simply do not drink and drive. Though this article does come from a real study in a journal of addictive behaviors, the article does not provide any insight to the reliability or validity of the study. It must be important to consider the mindset, morals, and beliefs of the individual. I do not drink and drive, regardless of what beverage I am drinking, for various reasons.
Also self report and the subject matter is important to consider. Self-report, especially when involving subject matters that are riskay, possibly even illegal, we all know to be inaccurate.
The article also infers causation, perhaps the type of person interested in drinking energy-alcohol drinks is more likely to get more intoxicated regardless?
While parts of the article may be true, I find it uninformative and not very clear. Though does caffeine actually aggravate the degree of intoxication or does it simply counteract the depressant effect of the alcohol.
Some more insight on the subject can be found here.
http://www.emaxhealth.com/76/10821.html