The offer of a free beverage anywhere is tempting, but during college when funds are often limited for students, it is seen as invaluable. The free product invading many college campuses today is energy drinks.

Top energy drink producers such as Redbull, Lost and Monster have found college campuses to be one of the best places to promote their products. Energy drinks have grown in popularity in the past decade in America and college campuses are one of the most common places to find these drinks.

Unfortunately, it is increasingly common to find college students mixing energy drinks with alcoholic beverages. Years ago, combining Rockstar and Vodka or Redbull and Vodka would be unheard of, but these are popular drinks in many college towns now.

Combining energy drinks and alcohol often results in significant health risks. Research shows that consuming energy drinks with alcohol slows motor functions and reaction times, despite the false belief held by many students that energy drinks might enhance energy and coordination when mixed with alcohol.

During finals week many students believe that an energy drink can provide them with a much needed energy boost. Energy drinks like Redbull are especially prevalent on college campuses during finals exams week. The energy drink companies employ attractive young product representatives to hand out drinks to weary students during exam weeks on college campuses.

Most students do not know what the contents of many energy drinks are, but believe the drinks will offer an energy boost. The listing of contents on energy drink cans was only instituted recently. Red Bull, the leader in energy drinks, contains sucrose, glucose, niacin, vitamin B, B12, caffeine and taurine. Most energy drinks have high levels of caffeine, which has been known shown to have unwanted side effects when used in high amounts, such as nervousness, jitters and “caffeine crash” when its effects wear off.

Energy drinks can also increase blood pressure and heart rate. The long term effects of the consumption of these beverages are a topic for further research, but it is clear that consumption of energy drinks along with alcohol can prove harmful.

College students are very impressionable and promoting energy drinks, especially in tandom with alcohol, can lead to lifelong drinkers.

To find out about energy drinks on campus two Interviews were done with college students on campus asking them about energy drinks on their campus.

Video Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw7M-QQiiL8

Interviews conducted with college students showed that mixing of alcohol and energy drinks was common on campus. Research suggests that students who experiment with energy drinks are more likely to experiment with other risky health behaviors such as illegal drugs, alcohol and risky sex. A closer examination at energy drinks might show that they might be a gateway drug.

Since both energy drinks and alcohol are present on many college campuses, new programs need to be developed to encourage responsible consumption. Teaching healthy drinking choices that focus on engaging college students and offer alternatives can help reduce serious health risks.
Interesting health education programs presented during orientation weeks early each semester can help inform students about safer uses of energy drinks. Programs like alcoholedu that are being presented to college freshmen to inform them about safe alcohol consumption include discussion about the safe use of energy drinks too. Alcoholedu educates and quizzes students about alcohol use and local regulations that must be met. The development of integrated health promotion and risk prevention programs on college campuses can help reduce risky health behaviors by college students.