Alcoholic energy drinks are popular among high school and college students. The drinks create problems since the alcohol impairs decision making, while the caffeine makes one alert, but not quick to react.
“It destroys your coordination and judgment,” said Dr. Dave Roberts, an emergency room physician at North Florida Regional Medical Center. Many are asking why these drinks are even on the market.
“I don’t – and my colleague don’t – believe there’s any place for an alcohol-energy drink, especially because they’re marketed toward younger people,” said Dr. Bruce Goldberger, professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine.
Goldberger and four other medical professionals have sent a letter to Florida’s attorney general to say the “consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages has been associated with increased risk of serious injury to oneself and to others as the result of driving while intoxicated, sexual assault and other dangerous behavior”, including alcohol poisoning.