Mixing energy drinks, alcohol can be dangerous, study shows

By Erin Jordan

"Health care professionals say University of Iowa leaders should think twice about selling energy drinks on campus or allowing company reps to hand out the caffeine-rich beverages at events where alcohol may be consumed. ..."

"A survey of 4,200 North Carolina college students showed that the 25 percent of students who drank alcohol and energy drinks combined consumed more alcohol than their peers who didn't mix booze with energy drinks. Students who drank energy drinks with alcohol were twice as likely to be injured or to take advantage of someone sexually and almost twice as likely to ride with a drunken driver, the survey showed."

"'Those who mixed alcohol with energy drinks had twice the amount of negative consequences,' said Mary Claire O'Brien, an associate professor of medicine at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, who conducted the survey. ..."

"U of I and Iowa City leaders have been battling binge drinking for years, with recent efforts including adding more Friday classes and proposing a city ordinance that would ban new bars within 500 feet of another drinking establishment. ..."

Full article available at http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090516/NEWS02/905160333