Adolescents who overindulge in energy drinks frequently experience dehydration, tremors, heat stroke, and cardiac events. Recently, attention has turned to behavioral consequences. Are these beverages transforming young people into hyperactive, unhealthy, and unruly individuals? Public opinion increasingly leans toward that view.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver initiated a campaign in January urging a prohibition on selling energy drinks to minors. UK supermarkets responded promptly. Waitrose led the way, declaring it would stop selling the most potent beverages to those under 16. Other retailers quickly announced similar restrictions, set to take effect in March.
Intuitively, a blend of stimulants would likely make children hyperactive, but is there concrete proof that energy drinks cause harm? Industry representatives frequently equate the caffeine content of these beverages to that of coffee, implying they are equally safe. However, recent studies indicate the distinctive combination of ingredients in energy drinks could carry greater dangers.
A worrying surge in the intake of sports and energy beverages, particularly among teenagers, has been linked to permanent dental harm and enamel erosion.
Two separate studies indicate that worries about the caffeine and sugar content in energy drinks, along with their impact on young consumers, are escalating.
Knowing the composition of these drinks is essential for controlling the associated risks. Advocates for a ban stress the need to differentiate energy drinks from sports drinks. Sports beverages are high in sugar and electrolytes, formulated to relieve thirst and replenish fluids following intense physical activity. The primary worry with sports drinks is their sugar content, which can lead to obesity, tooth decay, and type 2 diabetes over time.
Energy drinks are distinct because they pair high sugar levels with potent stimulants, primarily caffeine, which quickly and briefly boost alertness, focus, and vitality. After the effects subside, drowsiness and a crash often follow.
“New evidence suggests that the distinctive mix in energy drinks may carry greater risks”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration admits it cannot mandate changes to energy drink recipes. “We lack any guidelines or regulations controlling the composition of energy drinks,” explained FDA representative Susan Cruzan. The organization has no jurisdiction to enforce such measures. “According to current statutes, it is the manufacturer's obligation to confirm product safety, and these beverages are exempt from FDA premarket inspection or endorsement.”
Jeanna Marraffa, a clinical toxicologist at the Upstate New York Poison Center, informed USA TODAY that these beverages contain extremely high caffeine levels. “I advise people to understand the ingredients, track their intake, and recognize that these drinks are unsafe. Toxic reactions are definitely possible.”
The rapid stimulant effect is said to be creating disruptions in schools. A 2016 survey involving thousands of UK teachers revealed that 13% attributed student misbehavior to energy drink consumption. A Yale University study from 2015 indicated that 11- to 14-year-olds who consumed energy drinks were 66% more prone to hyperactivity or inattention.
Amelia Lake of Teesside University, co-author of a November study, states that educators view these beverages as a source of chaos. The research employed focus groups involving parents and students to examine energy drink impacts. “Children become extremely restless, shaky, unmanageable, lose focus, and experience afternoon crashes,” she reports.
Energy drinks are also linked to sleep disturbances, likely due to caffeine. Lake notes that such disruption could hinder the development of the adolescent body and brain, which largely takes place during sleep.
Caffeine can also impact health in other ways. A 2014 pan-European review by World Health Organization researchers listed numerous symptoms linked to excessive caffeine consumption: heart palpitations, hypertension, nausea, vomiting, seizures, and in severe cases, death. The review also referenced US studies connecting energy drinks to risky behaviors such as physical altercations, sexual risk-taking, not using seatbelts, accepting dares, smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse.
Surge in Sales
Worry about energy drinks is mounting as their use becomes more common and continues to climb. A 2013 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report indicated that 68% of European adolescents and 18% of children aged 10 or younger consumed these beverages. In the UK, the rates were 69% and 24% respectively, with young Britons drinking the largest quantities—3.1 liters per person monthly, compared to the European average of 2 liters. Some “high chronic” users consume 7 liters each month. A subsequent study found that UK energy drink sales across all age groups surged 155% from 2006 to 2014, rising from 235 million to 600 million liters.
Given these clear dangers to youth, why haven't nations moved quickly to prevent minors from purchasing energy drinks? A key factor is the presumption, shared by regulators and the beverage industry, that a given dose of caffeine produces identical health and behavioral outcomes regardless of whether it comes from an energy drink or coffee.
Recently, studies have emerged that dispute the notion that all caffeine is alike. An online survey of roughly 2,000 Canadians aged 12 to 24 revealed that 74% had drunk energy drinks and 85% had consumed coffee. Slightly more than 55% of energy drink users reported experiencing at least one adverse reaction, versus 36% of coffee drinkers.
Among those who consumed energy drinks, 25% reported rapid heartbeat, 24% had trouble sleeping, 18% suffered headaches, 5% experienced nausea and vomiting, and 3.6% felt chest pain. Overall, energy drink users reported adverse effects at about twice the frequency of coffee drinkers.
David Hammond of the University of Waterloo, who led the study published last month in CMAJ Open (doi.org/cj34), stated, “Our results show that adverse events from energy drinks are markedly more common than from coffee. Together with findings from a growing number of other research teams, our work calls into question the assumption of equivalence.”
Marcie Schneider of Greenwich Adolescent Medicine in Connecticut notes that energy drinks contain additional ingredients beyond caffeine, such as taurine (which mimics caffeine's effects) and guarana (which enhances its strength). “I wish safety thresholds would be reassessed,” she says. Schneider co-authored a 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics study that concluded energy drinks “are unsuitable for children and teenagers and should never be consumed by them.”
New Scientist presented Hammond's results to the British Soft Drinks Association. The association stated that it forwards any fresh evidence to the EFSA. “We will follow EFSA's guidance if new data emerges, but so far nothing has altered EFSA's stance on caffeine levels in energy drinks,” a spokesperson explained.
An EFSA representative commented that the agency does not issue statements on individual studies unless explicitly asked by national governments or the European Union.
The EFSA proposes caffeine safety thresholds across the EU, yet individual member nations can establish their own restrictions. Lithuania, for instance, prohibited the sale of all energy drinks to those under 18 in 2014. Almantas Kranauskas, head of nutrition at Lithuania's Ministry of Health, reports that the government does not monitor consumption data, but the ban seems effective. “Recurring news reports of students overdosing and being hospitalized ceased after the prohibition, and we think children have grown calmer and less anxious at school,” he states.
In the UK, the swift moves by supermarkets have sparked discussion about a nationwide ban, which advocates such as Jamie Oliver deem essential to prevent minors from purchasing these beverages at smaller shops. Cath Elliston from Oliver's team remarks, “It's excellent that supermarkets have demonstrated such strong initiative, but the government needs to enact legislation, as children can still obtain these drinks from convenience stores.”
“The incidence of negative reactions from energy drinks far exceeds that from coffee”
The British government has already implemented measures in this domain. A levy on beverages with excessive sugar will take effect in April, prompting many producers to lower the sugar levels in their offerings.
Cath Elliston concludes, “Achieving a legislative ban would be a major victory. It would shift attitudes and comprehension about where these products belong, and raise a generation of children who understand that energy drinks are not meant for them, establishing a new standard comparable to smoking and alcohol.”
