A new study has found that adding alcohol to energy drinks may lead to an increased desire to drink, as compared to the urge when drinking only alcohol.
Australian scientists said the increased desire to binge drink leaves people at risk of dangerous levels of intoxication, which may leave them susceptible to alcohol-related injuries, attacks and one night stands.
The study looked at 75 participants between the ages of 18 and 30 years who were randomly assigned to either consume a beverage mixed with alcohol and an energy drink, or to an alcohol-only drink. The researchers found that those who had the mixture of alcohol and an energy beverage had a much stronger urge to continue drinking compared to those who were consuming alcohol alone.
"There's a lot of data to show that people who drink energy drinks and alcohol end up consuming more alcohol, but we don't know if it's a causal link," said study author Rebecca McKetin, a fellow at the Australian National University's Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Well-being.
"A number of cross-sectional studies show that young adults who mix alcohol with energy drinks (A+ED) have higher levels of alcohol consumption than their peers who don't mix energy drinks with alcohol, and some studies suggest that this practice increases the risk of 'binge drinking," said McKetin in a statement.
The study's researchers suggest that policy makers need to stress the issue of binge drinking, and what factors may be contributing to this dangerous behavior, including the addition of energy drinks to alcoholic cocktails.
The findings of the study will be published in the August 2014 online issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
