Transcript Energy Drinks- Bad slides_energy_drinks_bad

with
Dr. Mike Magee
Need a Quick Boost?
Why “energy drinks” are bad news
Potential Dangers of Energy Drinks
What do YOU do when you’re tired?
• Take a walk
• Splash of cold water
Many teens and young adults turn to energy drinks
• A quick boost
• Potential dangers should not be underestimated
Differences Between Energy Drinks
and Sports Drinks
Sports drinks
• Gatorade, POWERade and AllSport
• Attempt to mirror body’s electrolyte / carbohydrate composition
• Claim to replenish losses that occur with exercise
Energy drinks
• Highly caffeinated
• Containing stimulants claiming to increase mental / physical stamina
• Named Red Bull, Adrenaline Rush, Power House,
Atomic Energy, Monster, Rockstar, Cocaine
Industry is Gaining Steam
Increasing numbers
• $3.4 billion a year industry
• Grew by 80% between 2004 and 2005
• 2006: 500+ new varieties introduced worldwide
• 8 million U.S. teens are customers
Started with Red Bull
• Founder based product on tonic he drank in Asia
• Started selling Red Bull in Austria in 1987
• Today, 2.5 billion+ cans sold yearly in 130 nations
• In U.S., Red Bull has 37% market share
What’s In Most Energy Drinks?
Ingredients
• 80mg of caffeine
– average-strength cup of coffee
– more than can of Mountain Dew (55mg of caffeine)
– more than can of Coke (23mg)
• 27mg of glucose and sucrose
– to give that sugar high
• Balance of ingredients vary
– vitamins / carbohydrates / amino acids
The final ingredient? Marketing — lots of it
Powerful Marketing
Red Bull: early adopter of grass roots viral marketing
• Mobile street teams handing out samples
• On-campus reps selling the idea of Red Bull parties
• Sports marketing and sponsorship connection
– BMX / skateboarding / Formula One / NASCAR
Most outrageous marketing: Cocaine
• From Redux Beverages out of Las Vegas
• 8.4-ounce drink with 280mg of caffeine
• It’s inventor, James Kirby, terms it:
“legal alterative”
“fruity, atomic fireball”
“As soon as people look at the can, they smile.”
Some Voices of Reason
“It’s just a bad idea and has all the same downsides
of too much caffeine plus a very bad name.”
Charles O’Brien, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania Health Systems
“... even more of a witches brew.
You’re playing with things that we don’t really
understand and the long-term consequences are unclear.”
Michael Hirt, MD
The Center for Integrative Medicine
Public Alarms Going Off Around Three Concerns
1) Use during pregnancy
• Pregnancy increases half-life of caffeine
• Normal half-life 4 to 6 hours vs. 18 hours in pregnant woman
• Caffeine crosses placenta with ease, exposing fetus
• Experts recommend daily limit of 300mg caffeine while pregnant
• High-caffeine energy drink NOT a good idea
2) Use with sports / exercise
• Not thirst quenchers – they’re dehydrators
• Caffeine has mildly dehydrating effect
• Concentration of sugar is the problem
• High levels of carbohydrates (in form of glucose) slow body’s
absorption of water — reinforcing dehydration
• Energy drinks NOT suitable for use during or after exercise
Greatest Concern of the Three
3) Use with alcohol
• Usually vodka / not for taste
• Young drinkers feel mix of caffeine with alcohol cancels out
some negative effects of drunkenness
– allows them to stay out longer and consume more alcohol
Dangerous territory
• Studies show “reduction in subjective sensation of intoxication”
• Feel less drunk than they are
• Experts say these drinkers should:
“be warned that in spite of the sensation of reduced effects,
they are still affected by alcohol and their motor
coordination is impaired. They shouldn’t drive or do any
activity for which motor coordination is required.”
Need for Vigilance
“This is just the combination that might lead to very bad
judgments... Feeling less intoxicated and more alert, one might
get behind the wheel of a car, but with impaired coordination
and reaction time, that decision might spell disaster.”
David Katz, MD
Yale School of Public Health
• Energy drinks banned in countries including
Denmark, France and Turkey
• Unregulated in the United States
• Parents are getting organized
It will take a lot more work to get ahead of this growing wave.
Need for Action
• “Functional foods” sales to reach $50 billion by 2010
• U.S. promises hearings and recommends research and surveillance
• UK Department of Health has published recommendations:
1) warning labels
2) caution with alcohol
3) no use during pregnancy
4) no use with exercise
Consumers must know what they’re doing and how they’re
bodies might react before they take that first gulp
www.healthpolitics.org
Need a Quick Boost?
Why “energy drinks” are bad news
Release Date: 2/21/2007