Energy Drink Cocktails May Increase Desire to Drink, Study

Cocktails that use energy drinks as one of the main ingredients have now been around for a good time, becoming one of the most popular choices in bars and clubs across the United States and the World.

According to a recent study it appears that mixing these caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol will increase the consumer’s desire to keep drinking. According to a small study performed on young adults in Australia, it was concluded that the mix of energy drinks and alcohol could increase the risk of dangerous binge drinking.

“A number of cross-sectional studies show that young adults who mix alcohol with energy drinks (A+ED) have higher levels of alcohol consumption than their peers who don’t mix energy drinks with alcohol, and some studies suggest that this practice increases the risk of ‘binge drinking,'” researcher Rebecca McKetin, a fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Well-being, said in a statement. “However, it may simply be the case that people who drink more often are more likely to drink A+EDs among other things. Yet if it is the case that energy drinks increase binge drinking, the popularity of A+EDs could exacerbate alcohol-related harms among young people, particularly harms related to intoxication, such as car accidents and injuries from fights or falls.”

For the study, researchers assigned 75 participants (46 women, 29 men) aged 18 to 30 years to an alcohol-only or A+ED condition in a double-blind randomized pre- versus post-test experiment.

Study participants received a cocktail containing either vodka with Red Bull or Vodka with soda water. The primary outcome measure was the Alcohol Urge Questionnaire that was taken at pre-test and 20 minutes later at post-test. Other measures taken at post-test were the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Questionnaire, the Drug Effects Questionnaire, and breath alcohol concentration.

“We found that when people drink A+EDs that they have a stronger desire to keep drinking than if they drank alcohol on its own,” said McKetin. “This would mean that someone who drinks A+EDs would want to keep drinking more than their friends who don’t.”

McKetin said their results do not prove that this translates into people drinking more.

Agencies/Canadajournal