COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Highly-caffeinated energy drinks – even those containing no alcohol – may pose a significant threat to individuals and public health, say researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
In a new online commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ), they recommend immediate consumer action, education by health providers, voluntary disclosures by manufacturers and new federal labeling requirements.
"Recent action to make pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks unavailable was an important first step, but more continued action is needed," says University of Maryland School of Public Health researcher Amelia Arria, who directs the Center on Young Adult Health and Development. "Individuals can still mix these highly caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol on their own. It is also concerning that no regulation exists with regard to the level of caffeine that can be in an energy drink."
Arria and co-author Mary Claire O'Brien, associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, alerted various state attorneys general to the risks of alcoholic energy drinks starting in 2009, actions that culminated last November in actions against Four Loko and similar products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.
HEALTH RISKS
The JAMA paper cites three public health concerns surrounding all packaged energy drinks containing moderate to high levels of caffeine:
RECOMMENDATIONS
The commentary recommends several "proactive steps to protect public health:"
FULL TEXT
The JAMA paper, The 'High' Risk of Energy Drinks is available online: http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/early/2011/01/21/jama.2011.109.full
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
The School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park advances the public health needs and policies of the state and beyond – leveraging the resources of the state's flagship university; translating research, teaching, practice into healthy public policy; and delivering a new generation of collaborative public health leaders. The University of Maryland, the region's largest public research university, provides education and research services statewide, supporting Maryland's economic and social well-being.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Amelia Arria, Ph.D.
Director, Center on Young Adult Health and Development
UMD School of Public Health
(240) 271-3777 (cell)
aarria@umd.edu
Neil Tickner
UMD Communications
301-405-4622
ntickner@umd.edu
JAMA