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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers who have spent decades looking at the effects of energy drinks are now warning of serious health risks and asking for more disclosure on product labels.
Energy drinks make up a $5.4 billion market in the United States alone. Advertising for the products is targeted primarily at teens and young adults -- promising performance enhancement and stimulant effects.
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Scientists at John Hopkins University say without prominent labeling, consumers have no idea what theyre getting in an energy drink. The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are often unlabeled and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication, Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., professor of behavior biology and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was quoted as saying.
Caffeine intoxication, a recognized clinical syndrome included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organizations International Classification of Diseases, is marked by nervousness, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, rapid heartbeats, psychomotor agitation and in rare cases, death.
A regular 12-ounce cola drink has about 35 milligrams of caffeine, and a 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee has 80 to 150 milligrams of caffeine. The caffeine content of energy drinks varies from 50 to more than 500 milligrams. Its like drinking a serving of an alcoholic beverage and not knowing if its beer or scotch, Dr. Griffiths was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, published online Sept. 21, 2008
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