detrimentally affect the consumer’s health.
When drinking an alcoholic drink that contains caffeine, people are much more likely to partake in dangerous activities and do things they would normally stop themselves from doing. According to Dr. Steven Lipshultz, this is due to the distortion of their perceptions of limitations. Caffeine can almost be viewed as an adrenaline rush. It speeds up your heartbeat and causes jitteriness in your entire body. These effects occur because caffeine is a stimulant. On the other end of the spectrum, alcohol is a depressant. Alcohol slows the brain’s ability to function properly, and this means slurred speech, wobbly walking, and unclear thinking.
Rather than cancelling out the effects of the alcohol, the caffeine makes the body disregard the drowsiness that comes along with being intoxicated. Fatigue is the body’s natural way of telling someone that they have had too much to drink. When the caffeine masks this perception, a person continues to drink and ignores the body’s signals to stop. People stop feeling drunk, but at the same time they feel very awake and energized. This combination leads to dangerous and often uncharacteristic actions. Not only does the caffeine enhance the effects of the alcohol, but it also enhances the addictiveness of it. Alcohol dehydrates the body, and caffeine causes people to lose water. This will cause a much worse hangover because the body’s water content is so low.
Another factor that comes into play when talking about caffeinated, alcoholic beverages is the size. A normal can of beer is twelve ounces, but a normal sized Four Loko is twenty-four ounces. Although it is only twice as large, drinking one Four Loko in an hour has the same effect as drinking a six pack of beer in an hour. It gets you much drunker, much faster. Also, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, it makes you more alert so therefore you keep drinking. There are no good outcomes of mixing these two types of addictive substances.
Scientists know the dangerous implications these drinks can have on the human mind and body, but they are not entirely sure how the body is processing the alcohol and caffeine when they are mixed together. Studies to find the answer to this question are much too dangerous to perform on humans due to the dangerous effects. The closest thing researches have conducted was to question college-aged students leaving a local bar. This research found that consumers of energy drinks mixed with alcohol were three times more likely to be intoxicated than those who only drank alcohol. They had a much higher BAC. BAC is a person’s blood alcohol content, or how much alcohol is in someone’s system. The consumers of alcoholic drinks mixed with caffeine were even more likely to feel that they could drive. Their lack of awareness of exactly how intoxicated they were came from the effects of the caffeine inhibiting the body’s natural drowsiness and fatigue. These patrons were more likely to engage in dangerous activities simply because they were not aware of their current state of mind.
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to remedy the widespread use of caffeinated alcoholic drinks. This is an issue that needs to be faced as soon as possible, and the stricter the FDA is, the more they will be able to get accomplished. They have specifically targeted six companies, one of them being Phusion Projects, the producers of Four Loko. The FDA has mandated that these companies either remove the caffeine from their products or remove them from shelves. If the companies fail to comply, their products could be seized. As far as we know, all companies have agreed to remove the caffeine from their drinks. The FDA is taking these precautions due to a number of illnesses occurring in young people after consuming these beverages.
There have been numerous colleges, including Central Washington University, that have seen widespread sickness across their campuses due to alcohol poisoning. The primary drinks these students were consuming were ones like Four Loko that contained both alcohol and caffeine. Students have been hospitalized, and people should be aware that these drinks can
Along with alcohol poisoning, these drinks have been linked to fatal car accidents. People are more inclined to think they can drive after having these drinks. Groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving are advocating for the ban of these drinks. Four Loko made the news when a man drove through a red light, killing a man and his three sons. The man confessed to having mixed liquor with a Four Loko before driving that night. Stories like these are fueling the flame for opponents of these products.
Nothing good can come from mixing alcohol and caffeine. It may give you an enjoyable “buzz” for a while, but in the long run, it is only harmful. Not only can it harm the health of the consumer, but it has the possibility of harming those who just happen to come in contact with them. Try to convince the mother and wife of the victims mentioned in the previous paragraph that these drinks should remain on the market because they enhance your social life. It probably will not go over very well and with good reason.
Rather than cancelling out the effects of the alcohol, the caffeine makes the body disregard the drowsiness that comes along with being intoxicated. Fatigue is the body’s natural way of telling someone that they have had too much to drink. When the caffeine masks this perception, a person continues to drink and ignores the body’s signals to stop. People stop feeling drunk, but at the same time they feel very awake and energized. This combination leads to dangerous and often uncharacteristic actions. Not only does the caffeine enhance the effects of the alcohol, but it also enhances the addictiveness of it. Alcohol dehydrates the body, and caffeine causes people to lose water. This will cause a much worse hangover because the body’s water content is so low.
Another factor that comes into play when talking about caffeinated, alcoholic beverages is the size. A normal can of beer is twelve ounces, but a normal sized Four Loko is twenty-four ounces. Although it is only twice as large, drinking one Four Loko in an hour has the same effect as drinking a six pack of beer in an hour. It gets you much drunker, much faster. Also, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, it makes you more alert so therefore you keep drinking. There are no good outcomes of mixing these two types of addictive substances.
Scientists know the dangerous implications these drinks can have on the human mind and body, but they are not entirely sure how the body is processing the alcohol and caffeine when they are mixed together. Studies to find the answer to this question are much too dangerous to perform on humans due to the dangerous effects. The closest thing researches have conducted was to question college-aged students leaving a local bar. This research found that consumers of energy drinks mixed with alcohol were three times more likely to be intoxicated than those who only drank alcohol. They had a much higher BAC. BAC is a person’s blood alcohol content, or how much alcohol is in someone’s system. The consumers of alcoholic drinks mixed with caffeine were even more likely to feel that they could drive. Their lack of awareness of exactly how intoxicated they were came from the effects of the caffeine inhibiting the body’s natural drowsiness and fatigue. These patrons were more likely to engage in dangerous activities simply because they were not aware of their current state of mind.
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to remedy the widespread use of caffeinated alcoholic drinks. This is an issue that needs to be faced as soon as possible, and the stricter the FDA is, the more they will be able to get accomplished. They have specifically targeted six companies, one of them being Phusion Projects, the producers of Four Loko. The FDA has mandated that these companies either remove the caffeine from their products or remove them from shelves. If the companies fail to comply, their products could be seized. As far as we know, all companies have agreed to remove the caffeine from their drinks. The FDA is taking these precautions due to a number of illnesses occurring in young people after consuming these beverages.
There have been numerous colleges, including Central Washington University, that have seen widespread sickness across their campuses due to alcohol poisoning. The primary drinks these students were consuming were ones like Four Loko that contained both alcohol and caffeine. Students have been hospitalized, and people should be aware that these drinks can Along with alcohol poisoning, these drinks have been linked to fatal car accidents. People are more inclined to think they can drive after having these drinks. Groups, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving are advocating for the ban of these drinks. Four Loko made the news when a man drove through a red light, killing a man and his three sons. The man confessed to having mixed liquor with a Four Loko before driving that night. Stories like these are fueling the flame for opponents of these products.
Nothing good can come from mixing alcohol and caffeine. It may give you an enjoyable “buzz” for a while, but in the long run, it is only harmful. Not only can it harm the health of the consumer, but it has the possibility of harming those who just happen to come in contact with them. Try to convince the mother and wife of the victims mentioned in the previous paragraph that these drinks should remain on the market because they enhance your social life. It probably will not go over very well and with good reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment