Same old unanswered question. Is a 'high risk behavior personality' attracted to energy drinks? or does drinking energy drinks cause high risk behavior? Does substance abuse cause emotional problems? or do emotional problems lead to drug abuse?

Energy drinks are the successful effort of high paid marketing execs developing ways to get kids to purchase the product. They market to youth. The packaging and concept of energy drinks is aimed at youth. "The beverage industry contends that most energy drinks contain caffeine levels comparable to a cup of coffee". Big Tobacco said something like that . "Anonymous" justified using them by saying that "barely nothing is good for you”. There is a lot that’s good for us. Farmers dont package it in big cool black and neon green cans with cool names. It is attractive to drink them because they’re "cool". The idea is if I am seen drinking a huge can of liquid speed then "they" will know I’m cool. A way to increase false level of self esteem. More people are suffering from alcohol poisoning due to energy drinks being more expensive then the alcohol it‘s cheaper to put more than 1 shot in. A person orders 2 drinks and gets the alcohol of 6. So, more alcohol poisoning. These companies are making a ton of money on energy drinks. But, who cares, right? It’s business and "may the buyer beware!!" I bet Maureen cares. Sorry for your loss. I think there will be many more.

Articles always refer to the caffeine but that isn't what makes the energy drinks so effective. They typically contain 900 to 1000 mg of TAURINE which is obviously a stimulant at that level....one that we know little about. And it does indeed encourage people to drink more because they don't feel drunk. I know one man who was drinking a case a day of them and went into a dark depression and had suicidal thoughts. Once he stopped drinking the crap, he got better. Anything that raises you blood pressure and heart rate so significantly should be of concern.

My son died after combining Red Bull and Vodka and Southern Comfort. He was 17 and had little experience drinking hard liquor. He had begun a part-time job along with senior year of high school responsibilities. I'm wondering if the energy drinks came first and then the alcohol and then the two together. I won't ever know but I do know that the night he died was not characteristic of him. He made curfew, never appeared intoxicated or under the influence and when he came in to say goodnight. My distress is focused upon his poor choices that night, the approval of using energy drinks by young people and the availability of hard liquor to teens. We did not have the liquor that he died from and we don't know where he was supplied the alcohol. The county police were not helpful with collecting information either on the scene or any time thereafter. Thanks.

Since removing ephedra from the ingredients, energy drinks are nowhere near as potent as they used to be. People have been drinking vodka and Red Bull for years (started in upper to middle-upper class nightclubs). -- With that said, I don't think that the research implies that energy drinks are the cause of high-risk behavior (as implied by anonymous). The study simply states that there is a correlation between high-risk behaviors- one indicator could be the consumption of energy drinks. There is a correlation between education level and incarceration rates... does that mean that every high school dropout goes to prison? Of course not-- there just happens to be a higher incidence of incarceration among those without a high-school diploma when compared to other education levels.

I am 16 and i drink them all the time and im not tempted to go have sex or do drugs after i drink one.. It just keeps me awake through out school. I know its not good for you, but what is good for you today?? barely nothing!!

And now they have energy drinks with alcohol that kids are drinking. Just imagine what happens......